When Scars are Beautiful
by RosaTyranny
Summary: The Joker always planned to go with the flow. So a pregnant woman who wasn't that afraid of him only slightly surprised him. To him, she was just another woman he could destroy the mind of. To her, she was just another man that had some issues.  JXOC
1. Chapter 1 REVISED

UPDATED AND REFURBISHED AS OF MAR 2 2014:

DIS: Nope, I don't own DC, Batman, Joker, or anyone BUT Cara Forrest :)

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><p>A young woman sits alone in the OBGYN office, tapping her foot as one hand rubbed gently over her round belly. The other patients were looking through magazines or texting, their husbands next to them, looking bored and uncomfortable. The lonely woman subconsciously pulls the sleeves of her turtle neck down, stretching them out further. Her brilliant eyes watched the small beta fish that sat on the counter, wiggling and opening it's mouth comically. It was calming, watching the electric blue fish swim around in the tiny bowl. For a moment, she started to think about her options. Not about her baby, of course she wanted to keep her baby. She wasn't even born, and yet...<p>

The woman already loved her child deeply, which is why she was considering her options. She was sure her mother and sister would be happy to-

When one of the nurses stood, the small fish panicked, breaking the young woman from her reverie.

"Ms Forrest? The doctor will see you now,"

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><p>As Gotham Central burned down to the ground, screams and cries of terror could be heard coming from the unfortunate beings that happened to be in the hospital that day. Sure, they had all been taken to school buses to be transported to another hospital, but the scene of utter destruction and the closeness to death still scared them. Except for one woman. Or should I say one woman plus one. Yes, this cool-headed woman was pregnant, in the beginning of the third trimester as well. The initial explosion did, however, startle her, and the hospital burning down did frighten her a little, but she didn't scream and wail like the other people on the bus. She didn't want to excite the baby too much, her doctor did just tell her that she was taking too many risks.<p>

That scared her.

She subconsciously tugged at her turtleneck, wincing slightly when her bruised shoulder sent a bolt of pain to her brain. But her face went back to being a slightly awed mask. Even when the bus driver refused to start driving, and then when The Joker clambered into the bus, she remained calm, not a peep. Some of the other passengers looked at her strangely, but she paid them no mind, for they were not important at the moment.

Who was important, at the moment, was the Joker, who was sitting next to her, screaming orders at the driver. His hair was green and greasy, and his white face paint was smeared in some places, showing patches of skin. The nurses uniform he was wearing was too small for him, and hie patterned socks and old brown leather shoes were the perfect accessories.

The pregnant woman blinked a few times, perplexed by the eccentric man's choice of dress. Once they were on their way to Joker-knows-where, Joker seemed to realized there was a lack of screaming and weeping from directly next to him. He looked over, his dark eyes full of flame, and he was surprised with what he saw. A golden haired pregnant woman, with the calmest blue eyes he had ever seen.

The only thing that gave away any anxiousness, was a protective hand on her round stomach. When he looked back up into her eyes, they were filled with ice, a threat to him. He quickly got the message that he was not to harm her baby. And the Joker may be the King's Fool, but he was no idiot. He knew that he did anything to the woman next to him that threatened the life of the infant in her, he would have hell to pay. Which could possibly ruin his plans, and he didn't want to risk that.

The Joker then noted that once she realized that he got the message, her eyes went back to being a sea of peace that had several rolls of emotion go through them. She was thinking, it was obvious. What about, only she knew. This woman intrigued him. It wasn't very often that he met a woman who at least didn't shudder in fear. However, she did scoot to the farthest corner away from him, getting out of his way.

His eyes ran up and down her sitting frame several times. Turtlenecks were not exactly summer clothes, and the long sleeves were stretched out a little. There were bruises on her wrists, poorly hidden by the sleeves. And when she itched her neck, Joker saw another flash of purple and blue. Joker narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look at her face. Seemingly noticing his staring, she looked up at him, face showing her intrigue, and a fading black eye that was under several layers of makeup. That was why she wasn't afraid of him. She already had a demon in her life, and he figured, compared to her Demon, he was nothing.

As they stared at each other, it was as if Joker had seen her Demon in the act, grabbing her and hitting her. Joker could have sworn he saw a flash of something in her eyes, he couldn't place it. He leaned towards her, showing his toothy grin.

"Uh...hiii," he said, watching for her reaction to his leering. But she didn't flinch, but she did blink.

"Hello," she said smoothly, nodding slightly and going to braiding a small section of her hair. She was a little reclusive, which didn't surprise him. Most battered women were scared to talk to anyone, especially men, afraid their husband would find out and hit them more.

"May I, uh, ask whyyyy. You are on this FAB-u-lous bus?" he asked her as she finished her braid.

"My husband had a emergency reschedule...so he left me here to get a check up and I had no other way to get home, unless I walked. And to be honest with you, walking is NOT fun currently," she sighed in exasperation, piquing the Joker's interest.

"What-ah, does he doo?~" he was having a little fun with this woman. Surely the only one he had a somewhat normal conversation for quite a long time, even if she was damaged goods.

"Photography. Apparently Paris Hilton is more important than the woman you've been with since sophomore year of high school," there was a tone of bitterness in her voice, and a scowl marred her face. It didn't belong there, Joker noted. There were deep smile lines on her face, as if she hadn't stopped smiling since she exited her mother's womb. But there were several other things that marred her face. A small scar under her right eye, another along her hairline. There was one more, almost invisible, on her chin, also on the right side. Apparently her Demon was left handed.

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><p>~Joker POV<p>

The woman next to me seemed to be in her mid-twenties, no more than 26, and from what I could tell, a healthy looking woman. Not like Paris Hilton, whom was aforementioned. She had a very pretty face, and the scars only made her more attractive to me. They added character to her face. Her eyes were the most intriguing of her facial features. They were a greyish blue color, that had a ring of darker blue-grey around it. But that wasn't the thing that was intriguing. It was how expressive they were. I don't think I've ever seen such expressive eyes. I could practically see her thoughts.

Suddenly, we made a sharp turn, and the woman went flying. If I hadn't braced myself, we both would have ended in the isle, along with half the other passengers. I looked down, and there she was, in my lap. I expected her calm facade would disappear when she realized she was in a mass-murderers lap, but she didn't seem fazed. When she looked up at me, she seemed annoyed with herself.

"Sorry," she muttered, sitting back up, a hand back on her stomach.

"I don't think the baby will be damaged by falling-ah, on my laP," I told her, and a sad look came over her, and it bothered me. Why did this woman bother me so much? She was just another woman, there was thousands, nay, millions of them in Gotham. So why did her discomfort bother me? I had to figure it out soon, before I killed her just to stop the feeling.

"It's the only thing that makes him stop...most of the time," she said quietly, and I sucked on my scars.

"Pardon peaches?" I drawled, cupping a hand around my ear comically, even though I had heard her.

"It's nothing," she said, quickly, waving a dismissive hand. I grabbed it, not exactly roughly, but not gently, and brought it closer to me. I slowly pulled up her sleeve as she tried to pull away, but I kept a strong grip. A hiss of pain escaped her, and I giggled. The bruises were a deep purple, as if they were caused no more than a day ago. I looked up at her, sucking on my scars.

"You-ah, were worried about the baby weren'tah ya momma?" I asked her, and her facade crumbled, but only for a minute. The exhaustion, desperation, fear, and misery flashed across her face, before being replaced by the calm mask, her eyes still gave her away though.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now, I believe you have a city to destroy, so you can leave me alone now," she said in a voice that was defensive. I smacked my lips, releasing her wrist, which she immediately covered up again. This woman who sat next to me reminded me of someone, but I couldn't quite place it. I stood up quickly, curtsied to her comically, and I heard a small chuckle escape her. Looking up at her through my hair, I saw she was amused.

"I suggest you change before your date with destiny," she said smartly, and I laughed loudly, making several other passengers jump.

I suddenly leaned forward, my face inches from her, but instead of surprise or fear on her face, it just held more amusement. Not being able to instill some sort of fear into this woman disturbed me. Maybe I had to give her a reason to be afraid. But before I could do anything else, the bus turned sharply again, and gravity and force pulled me forward.

Next thing I knew, I was getting the wrong shade of red lipstick on the brave woman's lips. Unfortunately, it took a few seconds to pull away, and a few more seconds for the act to compute in her mind. Watching her intensely while she blinked those blue eyes of hers several times, before finally looking up at me through thick lashes, brows furrowed.

"Um... I'm sorry, but you're going to have to buy me dinner first" she said, blushing, trying to wipe the red paint off her lips. Laughter ripped through me again, and I began walking to the front of the bus. When I got there, I glanced to the back using the big rear-view mirror. The passengers around the Golden-Girl, which was what I was going to call her for the moment, looked like they were ready to rip her throat out. They believed she was in league with me, and I scoffed.

A few minutes later, we arrived at our destination, and men started filing in to collect patients and doctors. I noticed there was a reporter, and told one of the boys to put him somewhere separate. Most of the women stuck together, the men doctors trying to protect them, while the Golden-Girl was left to glare challengingly at one of my men alone.

I never told the boys they couldn't hurt, or touch any of them, so it was no surprise when the goon grabbed woman harshly and yanked her up. With a cry of pain, she complied, and I watched as he pushed her along harshly, several curses streaming out of her mouth. Next thing I knew, I grabbed her from him, and aimed a gun between his eyes.

"Sugar here, gets enoughfff, of THAT at home, get me, HOMESLICE?" I drawled, and the boy nodded frantically. Now I was thinking about pizza... I could go for a slice right now.

"You're not helping," she whispered, and I looked down, and saw her face full of discomfort, and I released her arm. She rubbed it, and I noticed how small this woman actually was. Or was she just making herself smaller, harder to see, and grab.

"Take her to the top, don't bother with the mask, just give her somethin to sit-ah on," I told the kid in front of me, and he nodded again, motioning the woman to walk ahead of him. She glanced at me, and I could see what I knew was sincere graciousness. Then she was gone. I blinked and she was out the door and in the building...or was I just temporarily blinded?

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><p>~ Woman POV<p>

The young boy, I was calling him that because he was no more than 19, that so rudely pushed me around, was actually a good kid. He helped me up the stairs, even into the elevator. It was when we reached the top I added things up. He thought I was the Joker's bootycall or somethin. I looked at him, keeping my face calm.

"I'm not the Joker's girl, if that's what you're thinking," I told him, and he looked confused.

"But... why...what?" he said, running a hand through his blond mop, making me believe his brain had short circuited.

"Don't hurt yourself honey, I don't get it either. Hell, I was half expecting him to shoot me in the bus," I said with a shrug. He remained silent, and I glanced back at him, his face still confused. I decided to leave his poor brain alone.

We reached the top floor, and he lead me out. The building we were in was in construction, and there were girder rails and nails everywhere. I had to watch where I stepped, otherwise I would step on a nail. The kid found a dusty chair, and placed it down on a sturdy looking piece of floor. After I gingerly stepping over a fishy looking box, I made my way to the chair. I thanked the kid, smiling, and sat down as gracefully as a pregnant woman could.

Once I was seated, the kid looked anxious as to what he was supposed to do next. He paced back and forth a few times, wheels turning in his head. That's when I saw 3 dogs tied up in a corner, Rottweilers, obviously guard dogs. They looked lonely to me. Just like me.

Lonely, tied up, afraid, but willing to fight to the death for someone who takes care of them, or in my case, for the baby inside of me. Making up my mind, I got up, and made my way to the dogs. The kid didn't seem to notice until I was a few feet from them, and he called out in a panic, saying they weren't friendly. But I didn't listen. When I got close, they lifted their heads, and let out a warning growl, but I ignored that too.

I started to speak gently, hoping they wouldn't see me as a threat. Another growl, and I took a step back, but I continued talking softly to them. Eventually, they stopped growling, and I was able to get close enough to pet them. Once I started rubbing their bellies, they seemed to warm up to me. Pretty soon, they were licking my hands and face, making me giggle. The kid behind me didn't say a word. Apparently, my strange ways disturbed the poor kid.

"Uh... I'm just going to go now..." and with that, the kid left. I continued giving the dogs some love, getting slobbery from all their kisses. Eventually, they all fell asleep near me or in my lap. I sat there, finally having a chance to think, lightly petting the dog next to me. Why had the Joker not killed me, hell, even saved me. Why?

He probably wanted to study me, or something like that, since I wasn't afraid of him. Even when he accidentally kissed me I didn't recoil in disgust. I must be an enigma to him. I found that amusing. To me, everyone was the same. Everyone had flaws, some hid them, like I did, or flaunted them like the Joker. And I'm talking about mental flaws too, not just physical. I sighed, and waited, waited for my destiny to be revealed.

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><p>Joker POV~<p>

Once I had changed from my oh-so-sexy costume, I headed to the room where the reporter was. And like the Golden-Girl said, I had a city to destroy.

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><p>Normal POV~<p>

When The Joker finally got up to the top floor, it was late in the night, and the Golden-Girl was napping in the middle of the dogs. That made him stop short. The dogs were supposed to be fearsome, and here they were, laying around the woman almost protectively. He growled, and stomped over. They were HIS dogs. But when he got close, two of them raised their heads and growled, making him stop short.

The woman sat up bolt right, gasping lightly. Joker watched her with smoldering eyes, but when she looked at him with clear and fearful eyes, he backed down. Those were haunted eyes. She was someone who woke up in fear regularly. When she saw where she was, and the Joker standing near her and not the usual Monster, she calmed down.

"Oh, it's just you," she said, and that made him angry. It was JUST him? He was THE Joker! The most feared criminal in all of Gotham! Not JUST some ordinary man! A blade appeared in his hand, and he took a few steps towards her. The dogs' growling caught her attention, and her crystalline eyes snapped to his blade. Both her hands went to her stomach, and she looked back up at him, and for the first time, they were fearful, and it made him stop. He growled loudly, and threw the knife at the wall, before turning to her. She had stood up, hands still protecting her stomach, the dogs in front of her, snarling.

"Call them off!" he bellowed, and she shushed the dogs, who wagged their tails at her voice. The Joker took a step to her, and she took one back. The sick joy he usually got when he scared someone wasn't there, and it added to the list of things that bothered him. The woman in front of him was at the top.

He took another step, making her take two back. She was terrified of him now, no longer putting on a brave face. They never broke eye contact, and as he kept stalking toward her, he saw her eyes change. She went into survival mode, and tried to run away, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her against him.

"LET ME GO!" she cried, struggling in his grasp, but he didn't let her go. He brought his lips next to her ear.

"If you prommisssse not to run, I'll-ah, let you go," he hissed in her ear, and she nodded rapidly. He slowly let her go, feeling her curves as he went. He had to admit, her pregnant form was downright hot. She slid out of his grasp, and turned around to watch him, looking wary. Joker giggled, and pointed to the chair.

"Make-ah, yourself com-fort-able sugar," he said to her, and she did so, slowly. Once she was seated, Joker started skipping towards to her, blade in hand. Fear flashed in her eyes again, but Joker just skipped around her giggling madly.

"I hope you like fireworks sugar," he laughed, stopping next to her, playing with a lock of her hair. The woman finally found her voice, and it didn't shake in fear.

"My name is Cara, Cara Forrest, not 'sugar'. And yes, I do like fireworks," she said, and he laughed again.

"Cara... it suits you, but-ah, so does sugar. SO, I'm gonna call ya sugar, Sugar," he said smirking at her annoyed face. Joker laughed at her, skipping away from her.

"Sit tight sugar, the party'll start soon enough," and with that, he left to go check on his prisoners.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I would like to thank BOOMSHAKADAA, again, for being the first reviewer, and for pointing out the flaws in the first chapter. I have revised those, and hopefully it's easier to read now. So, since this is the second chapter, I can officially give you cookies. *hands cookies* Here's the second chapter! Hopefully it will keep your interest

Update: Fixed the POV mistake. Stupid POVs...

DIS: Don't own a thing, 'cept Cara

~~Cara POV

I heard Batman coming from practically a mile away, the shouts of pain and surprise traveled up to me through the elevator shaft. If that wasn't a sign of the vigilante's entrance, I don't know what was. Almost an hour ago Joker had made his announcement to the ferries, how they had to blow each other up, and he was very proud of himself. He really believed they were going to do it.

But as I watched the clock, a small smirk came to my lips. Humans may be selfish creatures, but we are instilled from birth the knowledge that we are not God, we can't decide who lives and who dies. If neither of the ferries blew up, I wouldn't be surprised.

Joker was muttering to himself, sucking on his scars when he paused. The dogs were standing near him, looking alert. I stayed in my seat, sitting as straight as I could, waiting. For what I didn't know. Was I waiting for Batman to save me? Or was I waiting for someone to make my destiny clear to me? Or was I waiting for the answer of what I was waiting for.

I stopped myself before I hurt myself, and searched for a safe exit route in case something went wrong, which I expected it to. The shouts got louder and louder, and Joker tensed for a moment, before becoming completely relaxed. He turned to me, and I could see his dark eyes ablaze.

"Here he comes Sugar, stay out of our way, or-ah, you might get hurT," he said to me in a low voice, and I nodded once. A few moments later, Batman came crashing in. For a moment, he was confused about my presence, but when I put a terrified look on my face, he assumed I was another hostage, which I was, but it made his job easier if I looked the part.

Batman and Joker exchanged a few words, something about Gotham or other, I couldn't really hear from where I was sitting. That's when Joker sent the dogs on Batman, and I watched in horror as Joker ran over and began to beat Batman with a lead pipe. I wasn't in the mood to play Clue, so I looked away. I wasn't going to be the one to declare "It was Joker! In the construction sight! With the lead pipe!"

But when Batman kicked Joker away, and threw the dogs off of him, I was relieved. Well, for his sake. One dog I knew was lost, thrown down the shaft, but the other two who managed to get away came crawling to me, whimpering. I hushed them, cooing at them, rubbing their heads.

I missed the most critical parts of the fight and conversation as I tried to help the injured dogs, both whom laid at my feet to rest. I looked up just as Batman shot things into Joker's face, making the Clown recoil.

Suddenly Joker was gone, he had fallen off. A small gasp escaped me in surprise, making the dogs look up. Batman shot some gun looking thing, and there was Joker, hanging upside down. They began talking again, and this time I really couldn't hear them. I think it was something about Harvey Dent. Just as quickly as he had entered, Batman disappeared.

That's when the SWAT showed up, shining lights everywhere. I winced slightly when one of them shone their LED flashlight in my eyes. Next thing I knew, I had guns pointed at me, and I was yelled at to get down on the ground. Now, this was quite surprising to me. Do I look like a hooker? Why does everyone assume I'M with the Joker? I tried to tell them this, but they wouldn't have it. I was pushed harshly to the ground, guns pressed against my head, pain in my stomach. A flash of worry went through me.

The baby I thought desperately. Nothing else crossed my mind, nor could I compute anything the men told me to do. Somewhere I heard them telling me to surrender, to put my hands behind my back, but I couldn't do it, I was too scared to. A deep voice yanked me out of my panic.

"She's noT with me~ good officerss. Stop throwing her arounnndd like she is. Her name is Cara Forrest, citizen of Gotham, and pregnant," that seemed to get they're attention, and they leapt off, some still with guns drawn, one of them actually helping me up. I began to do a delirious pat down, trying to make sure my baby was ok.

Nothing felt out of the ordinary, and I paused to think how everything felt on the inside. No pain, which was good. Everything seemed to be fine. I sighed, before turning to one of the men.

"If you have hurt this child, I swear, I WILL let the dogs eat ALL of you," I said, the mentioned dogs watching the men, too tired and injured to fight them off. The SWAT team seemed to take a step away from me as I was escorted away. Before I was completely out of earreach, I heard someone call out to me.

"You should use that threat on your MAN too Sugar! Maybe THAT'LL stop him from hittin ya!" followed by loud laughter. I sighed, and turned my head. The Joker had been let down, and was in cuffs, looking proud of himself.

I wondered why he looked so smug. He had lost the battle for Gotham. And suddenly it hit me. Harvey Dent. He was in the hospital too. What had the Joker done.

~Joker POV

As the look of utter terror crossed over her face, I knew she had figured it out, or at least had an idea of what had happened. Batman may have beaten me, but Gotham was still going to fall. I had won. I liked winning, made me giggly. So that's what I did.

I giggled as they put the cuffs on me. Chuckled when they began to lead me away. Guffawed when I got out of the lift. By the time I reached the secure van, I was laughing hysterically. Before they shut the doors, I got a final glance of the Golden-Girl. The haunted look on her face made me laugh even harder.

~Normal POV

Cara Forrest spent the night in a hospital, while The Joker spent it in Arkham. The police wanted to watch Cara for the night.

"To make sure you and the baby are alright," the doctor had said, but Cara knew they wanted to see if she really wasn't 'Joker's Gal'. They couldn't make it any more subtle when they handcuffed her to the hospital bed. She finally passed out from exhaustion around 5 AM.

When Commissioner Gordon walked in the next afternoon, he got the full level of her glare, and it made him stop short. The middle aged man then looked very uncomfortable, and took another step in.

"Um, good morning Ms. Forrest, how are you?" he asked cautiously. He had heard from the SWAT boys that she had a bit of a sharp tongue.

Her eyes followed him as he walked further into the room, holding nothing but contempt. When he stood next to her, her look softened a bit. The Commissioner was absolutely exhausted, and still came to see her, so he deserved some slack.

"Good afternoon Commissioner. What brings you to my lovely hospital room that I can't leave?" she asked, and he winced slightly, her sarcasm not lost on him.

"I'm really sorry about that Ms. Forrest, it was just a precaution. All the other hostages were dressed up and tied up, you were not. And one of the real clowns said Joker treated you differently...we assumed-" he stopped when she went back to glaring at him.

"ASS out of U and Me," she said dryly, and he didn't bother finishing. A spare detective brought up her record and information, and she was clean, and had no ties to the Joker at all. Gordon smiled apologetically, and unlocked the hand cuffs. Cara rubbed her wrist, trying to regain the feeling in her hand.

"Apology accepted Commissioner. Now," she sat up, getting comfortable. Then she turned her intelligent eyes on him.

"I have a feeling there is something that you either A) need to go do, or B) you are absolutely exhausted. Go home Commissioner, spend time with your family, Gotham is safe for at least a day," she said calmly, and he sat heavily in a chair.

"They didn't bring you the paper this morning did they," he said more than asked while pulling out a rolled up newspaper from his coat pocket.

Cara took it from him, flicked it open, and began scanning the front page. What I read killed my hopes for a better Gotham. Harvey Dent dead, along with five others, and Batman was to blame. She looked up at Gordon, and she saw the guilt behind his eyes.

"He didn't do it...did he?" she asked softly. Gordon didn't speak, just buried his face in his hands, giving her the answer.

"Hm... well... that's an interesting development...The Joker won't be happy about that... I hope you know, if he does ever escape, he won't be captured again till you admit it was Harvey who killed those people,"

"Yes, yes I know...I'm praying that he'll never escape,"

"He won't till he has a reason to...and I'm afraid you've already given him the perfect excuse... he won't for a few days, maybe a week or two though... build up his strength," she said, wheels turning rapidly in my mind.

"For someone who has no relationship with The Joker, you sure do know a lot about him," Gordon said suspiciously, making her chuckle.

"No, but I did spend enough time with him to figure out a few of his habits,"

"You're assuming-"

"No, I'm not assuming, I know these things,"

~Gordon POV

The woman in front of me was odd, extremely. Not Arkham odd, no, but...it was hard to place. I just had the feeling she was more in tune with the universe than most people. She accepted the world on how it was, even if it was totally messed up. The blonde haired woman began to study the paper, reading everything, her brows furrowing in concentration. A yawn escaped her, and I soon followed. That seemingly amused her.

"Contagious," she muttered, not looking up from her paper.

I was told when she was admitted and looked at, that she was covered in bruises, as if she was pushed down the stairs too many times. Apparently the Joker wasn't as gentle with her as I had hoped. That man had no soul, absolutely none.

~Joker POV

I sneezed loudly, for the hundredth time that day. What, was the whole city talking about me today? Oh, yeah, they were. That made me giggle. A sneeze ruined it however. I couldn't do anything to scratch my nose either.

One downfall of straight jacket, can't scratch your nose. I had asked one of the lovely nurses to bring me the paper this morning, but she just spat at my feet, so I took that as a polite no. She was an ugly cow anyway, middle aged, short, and very, very large. Guess she wanted to make up for her lack of personality. I laughed at that. I could still entertain myself, if only for a while, in this oh so comfortable padded cell.

The trial was quick, which didn't surprise me. I barely said 2 words in my defense. All I did was start laughing when they started to list the things I've done. Apparently that's enough to label someone insane and trow them into Arkham.

I sniffed, fighting off a sneeze, and got comfortable. I wasn't going to be here for a while, might as well be comfortable while I can.

It was only then when I briefly thought of The Golden-Girl, and if she had returned to her Demon yet.

~~Cara POV

Gordon helped me clear up everything with the doctors, and the nurses, and the cops. I was no longer 'The Joker's Girl'. Now I was just 'The Woman who The Joker Pushed Down the Stairs'.

Needless to say, that bugged me, a lot. The Joker hadn't hurt me, no. He was the only man who hadn't hit me. But Gotham was so ready to put the blame on someone as wicked as The Joker. Not a well-known photographer who went to every red-carpet event, who married his high-school sweetheart. The world confused me sometimes. I didn't want to go home to be honest, I had the feeling I would be back here at the hospital anyway.

In order to stay a little longer, I told the nurse I wasn't feeling well. With that, I was permitted to stay another day to a week longer. I never played sick when I was a kid, never wanted to. But at the moment in time, I would play sick as long as I could.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- BOOMSHAKADAA, you are fantastic. You get twice the amount of cookies, and confetti. Not to eat, I don't think confetti tastes very good. Enjoy!

It may be a little slow at first, I wanted to work a little more with Cara, develop her a little more.

I also fixed the first 2 chapters!

Dis; The norm

WARNING: 'bad' language in this chapter

~Normal POV

Gotham was a wreck. They're white knight was dead, they're dark knight had turned on them, and they're city was falling apart. It seemed like hope was just a fading star in the sky. And at that moment, it was.

Gordon's men were stretched thin, doing their best to fight crime as usual. But without The Batman, the amount of crime was even higher than usual. It seemed like every criminal in Gotham grew a pair and decided to run amok. The caped crusader did show up once in a while, saving a damsel here, thwarting a bad guy there. But it wasn't enough. Gotham had reached a plateau in behavior, and it was going to be a while before it got any better.

~~ Cara POV

When I finally left the hospital, it was 2 weeks after 'The Big Night' as I called it. I left in the clothes I arrived in, which was downright gross. Since my oh-so-wonderful husband was "too busy" to come see me at the hospital, no one brought me any clothes, or my purse, or enough money to get a cab home.

I scowled at myself as I trudged down the front steps. Do I even know how to get home from here? I asked myself, looking down the sidewalk. I looked the other way, hoping to see something familiar. I didn't.

With a sigh, I chose to go right, and began my trek home, hand on my stomach. At least I had comfortable shoes, otherwise this wouldn't be fun at all. As I walked down the sidewalk, the neighborhood didn't get any worse, so I guessed I was going in the right direction. That's when a car pulled up next to me. It was an old cholo car, the bottom inches from the ground.

It was full of men, no older than twenty, all looking like they just smoked enough weed to fill a warehouse. I accidentally stopped to look at them, which was my first mistake. My second was not walking away immediately once I realized my first mistake.

"Hey lady, wanna hit it up with some VERY eligible men?" the one in the passenger seat said. More like slurred. Funny, I thought weed was magical and didn't make you sound like an idiot. I suppressed a chuckle with that thought.

The others in the car snickered, and the scent of weed wafted out of the car. I turned fully to the car, pointing at my bulging belly.

"Sorry boys, I'm retired," with that, I started walking. Sadly, the car slowly kept up.

"Don't worry sugar, we don't mind the bun in the oven," the one sitting in the back said. He seemed to be the worst of them all. If you looked up 'Child Rapist' in the dictionary, his face would be right next to it.

"No thanks," I snapped, quickening my speed, eye twitching. Men were pigs, all of them.

It took me fifteen minutes to get rid of the idiots, and it was only thanks to Gordon suddenly appearing. Gordon seemed to be confused when the car speed off, breaking several laws as it went. When the Commissioner looked at me expectantly, I shrugged.

"It was a bunch of kids, just being annoying. No biggie," I said dismissively.

Thankfully, the Commissioner seemed to understand I didn't want to explain, and dropped it. He then started to ask me questions, which made me oh-so-happy. I had been questioned for almost a week straight. If I had to answer another 'Are you the Joker's woman?', I may strangle someone.

"Are you well enough to leave the hospital Ms. Forrest?" was his first question, which surprised me. Wasn't expecting that. I noticed Gordon staring at me, waiting, so I nodded.

"Yeah, for the most part. Still a little sore and what not, and not to mention this little bundle kicking every few hours. Other than that, I'm fine," I told him, but he didn't seem to believe me.

"Then why are you on the other side of Gotham? I thought you lived on Sherwood Ave,"

I blinked, before slamming my forehead into my hand. I guess I didn't go the right way.

"You got lost didn't you," Gordon said, trying to cover his laughter with a cough. I nodded, head still in hand. That time Gordon did chuckle, and motioned for me to follow him. I followed dutifully, mad at myself.

He opened the door of his patrol car for me, and I smiled thankfully. His wife is a very lucky woman, I thought to myself, buckling up. I had some difficulty, due to the giant house sized belly I currently had, but with some muttering and violent jabbing, I managed to do it.

Gordon got in and started to drive. Not a lot was said, other than the general small talk.

"Nice weather today," he'd say.

"Yes, quite. Little on the cold side though," I'd say.

"Could be snowing," he'd say, making me scoff.

"Perish the thought! It NEVER snows in Gotham!" I'd say sarcastically, making him laugh.

"Never," he would finish, and then the car became quiet again. Just a normal ride in a cop car, when you're innocent of course. I'm sure if you were arrested and in the back seat you wouldn't be talking about the weather. But I digress.

I looked out the window, not impressed with what I saw. When my husband got a job here, he was so excited. Gotham, the place to be. I was the one who was apprehensive. I was born in the So Cal, and was far from being the stereotypical 'rich girl'.

I didn't party, I didn't do drugs. I built blanket forts and had Harry Potter movie marathons with my friends, even when I was a senior in high school. I wanted to have fun, the healthy way. And god damn it, I had fun.

While the 'popular kids' were getting drunk and getting STDs instead of doing their homework, I actually studied. It was minimal, I'll admit. What teenager actually WANTS to study? So I had a high B average, making my parents very proud and put more pressure on my little sister to do better than me. I felt bad for her. Now I owe her twenty bucks for beating me. And a round of Elefun.

My parents were wonderful. Maybe too wonderful. They loved each other, and my sister and I, but as I look back, I didn't appreciate them as I should have. Most the time I just threw it back in their faces. I lied to them about having a boyfriend for 14 months, until they finally found out. That was a fun night.

It took almost 3 months before they trusted me again. By that time, I had made the decision to never lie to them again. Unless it was for their own good. Like if I found out I was dying from a strange and unheard disease and only I knew about it. Then I wouldn't tell them. It would be too much I think.

I grew up in a great place too. Gated community. I know, now I sound spoiled, but I wasn't. I had to work hard for things I wanted. But I digress. It was very nice, if you don't think that most of the trees and bushes were planned there.

I always thought it took away from the magic, the fact that nature didn't put those trees there by natural causes. But what could I do. I lived in a rich place that wanted to have a plan. And it was a great plan.

Sadly there was a downfall to the beautiful area I lived in. Every girl was expected to be a dumb skank, and every guy a stupid tool. I didn't fit in with those people, never really did. Thankfully I met other people who shared my ideas.

And Elefun is more fun to play with with five friends.

As I stared out the window, thinking, I became a little sad.

Why can't I go back to that time? When things were simple, when I didn't have to look over my shoulder all the time. When the love of my life actually loved me back.

When we arrived at my home, I just stared at the front door to the apartment building. It wasn't until Gordon cleared his throat that I actually got out. I thanked him profusely, inviting him and his family to dinner some night in the future, which he agreed to with a hearty smile.

I watched as he drove away, and once he was gone, I looked up the tall apartment building. It was for the 'better off' people Gotham. Not Bruce Wayne level, oh no, but not dirt poor either.

The tall building was only a few years old, and was very modern looking. I didn't like it, and I knew why. The chrome and steel was cold and heartless, the red accent overhangs looked like bloody gashes. The topiaries next to the doors were regularly trimmed, and the few flower boxes were filled with fake flowers rather than real ones.

It was a 'picture perfect place', a place where if you paid enough money, no one would report your wife's screams of pain. People said Gotham City itself was hell. But they didn't understand. They didn't know hell.

Hell was a shiny building with fake flowers and blood red overhangs.

Hell was home.

I should really just move away, I thought to myself, before walking through the front doors. The lobby was just like the outside. Cold. I walked past the stairs, and hoped right into the elevator. As I went up, I thought about why I actually stayed.

Maybe I was waiting for him to love me again. Or was I waiting for someone to drag me away from him by my hair. I know I sounded like a fool, but I loved my husband, but I hated him at the same time. I loved the man he was, the man I'm hoping he would go back being.

The man who held me when my father died. The man who loved me. Not the one who got drunk as soon as he got home, forgetting who he was and who he was with. Not the man who looked at me in disgust and threw me into walls calling me a slut.

The dinging noise prompted me to move out of the elevator, which I did. There was only 3 other apartments on this floor, and I've only seen them all once. I guess they were too afraid to show their faces to the woman they ignored.

When I reached my door, I stopped, key in hand. With one breath, one hand on my stomach, I unlocked the door and walked in.

What I saw made me stifle a cry. Beer bottles littered the floor, along with every thing I owned. Lamps were busted, along with the TV, radio and picture frames. I saw a figure slumped on the couch. Brown wispy curly hair, lanky but muscular figure, clearly wasted and very angry.

My instincts screamed at me to get out, and I didn't ignore them. I quickly turned to get out.

I didn't get far. Before I could get to the elevator I was grabbed and dragged back to the apartment. Right before my face met the wall at full force, I remember screaming and begging the monster to not harm my baby. Then everything went dark.

~Joker POV

Arkham. Glorious Arkham. The melting pot of everything good and delicious. And when I say good and delicious, I mean dark and chaotic. So to me, it IS good and delicious. That made me giggle.

This place wasn't so bad. Once you get past the bitter orderlies, the colder than ice showers, and the below par food. Oh, and the lack of excitement. The people around here have nothing to do!

Although, there was a doctor here, I forget her name, she had platinum blonde hair and sparkly blue eyes. She 'analyzed' me a few times. Tried to get in my head. She was trying so hard to understand me, trying to give a reason as to why I was who I was. She didn't understand that there was no REAL reason. But I let her play her games, they entertained me. But now they were getting boring. The same tests, same questions. Boooorrring!

She bothered me though. Her eyes showed no emotion, and her hair was almost white. No emotion, no personality. How boring.

Suddenly I became twitchy. I needed something to do, otherwise I will go out of my mind. My fingers twitched from behind me, and I began sucking on my scars.

Maybe it was time to go out and find some fun for myself. My laughter echoed throughout my cell, making my laughter seem even louder than it actually was.

You would think the orderlies would run in to give me drugs, but I knew they were too afraid to enter the lair of The Joker.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N I would like to thank Sithlord8665, Fruityloops87, XPsychoBabyDollX, forgetmenotflowers, and Devil's Favorite Daughter for the reviews! Cookies for all! :D

Enjoy!

Dis: I don't own DC. I do own a nice pair of pink heels and Cara Forrest though!

Warning: Language and slight gore

~~/~~

~Normal POV

Imagine a chicken, with it's head sadly cut off, running around. Now, imagine the city of Gotham the morning after The Joker escaped from Arkham. The two looked very similar.

The newspapers were full of rhetorical questions. How did he escape? How bad will the damage be this time? Who's going to be his first victim? And who's going to stop him if Batman is on the run?

Commissioner Gordon had a press conference, telling the people they were doing their best to track him and get him back into Arkham. Needless to say, all the publicity made The Clown Prince of Crime laugh his purple ass off.

Like he predicted, the whole city lost it's collective mind. His escape wasn't 'according to plan', and all the 'schemers' were scrambling to make up a new plan. Watching them make a pathetic attempt to do so was ever more comical to him, making him fall off his chair to roll around on the ground.

A few goons he had in reserve watched him apprehensively, not sure whether to laugh with him or not. Their boss was definitely crazy, but they wouldn't say it to his face, for fear of losing their own faces.

At the moment, The joker and his 'buddies' were living comfortably in an abandoned warehouse. Once you got past the rats the size of cats, the millions of cockroaches, the leaky roof, and the pile of skeletons in the corner it wasn't that bad. To The Joker at least.

As The Joker rolled around the floor, dust and dirt clinging to his overcoat and turning it a dusty purple color, there was another 'news flash'.

Apparently The Joker had already made a move, attacking a twenty-five year old pregnant woman. She was currently in a coma at Gotham Medical. He was so mad he missed the name.

That made The Joker stop, and sit bolt upright, all signs of joy wiped off his face. This wasn't funny. This wasn't funny at all.

~Joker POV

One minute, I was laughing on the floor, the next I was staring right at the TV, my blood boiling. How DARE they blame me for something I didn't do. I would have told them I did it, either by telling them personally, or leaving my card. I wouldn't just beat up a woman and walk away. That wasn't my way of doing things.

I wanted people to KNOW what I could do. I wanted them to know I could bring them all down to my level, that they're perfect little world was a lie. I wanted them to know they were all hypocrites. I wanted to watch them all burn.

What I didn't want was them putting things on me when I CLEARLY didn't do it. That was just so typical to. When something bad happens, blame it on the bad guy, not the picture perfect husband that was "so concerned for his wife" and "walked in right as the Joker stabbed her". Yeah, this Mr. Forrest was so... 'noble'. Liars are the worst. His story wasn't even that believable!

I stopped my thought process for a moment and wondered why the name seemed so familiar. Forrest, Forrest...where had I heard that name? I brushed off the feeling, and went back to watching the screen.

Supposedly, he had just gotten home from a long day of taking pictures of stick thin anorexic models, and walked in on me beating up his wife. His entrance was so heroic, I had gotten so scared and ran off. But not before he gave me shiner first.

He then ran to his pregnant wife, who was bleeding profusely, and saw that I had stabbed her in the torso area several times. Before she blacked out, she reached up, and told him she loved him. After that the poor bloke burst into tears, saying his wife didn't deserve this.

What didn't escape my attention was his gaze flitting back to the busty red head reporter a few feet from him. I smacked my lips together.

Then, like any good news station of Gotham they showed a montage of the poor woman. Suddenly I realized why the name was so familiar. She was Golden-Girl, the pregnant woman on the bus. The one who was oh-so-worried about her baby. I laughed harder. Now, now THIS was fun.

Framing lil ol' me for beating up his wife, who just happened to be one of my old hostages. I believe I gave Mr. Forrest a perfect excuse to practically kill his wife. Two can play that game. Let's see if the bastard can really give me a shiner.

I giggled at the thought, before getting up to go to the cars. By the time I got in the car, my laughter filled the warehouse. I think that scared the boys, since they started to fidget. I may not be Scarecrow, but their fear made me laugh harder.

~~Cara POV

'He got you good didn't he Sugar?' a voice in the darkness said. It was familiar, but I couldn't place it. I couldn't do anything actually. I couldn't move, I couldn't see, and I couldn't figure out where I was. I didn't even know WHO I was.

'You know, you should have, uh, saw this comin,' the voice said again. If I could growl in frustration I would. I knew that voice. Suddenly I could see. It was a small light that looked like it was miles away. I couldn't move towards it, but it seemed like it was moving towards me, getting bigger and bigger.

'Sugar, you have to-ah, leave him this time. Otherwise, I will make ya,'

The light turned out to not to be a light. It was a face. A white face with a bright red glasgow smile and huge black eyes.

It was so familiar. The name was right on the tip of my tongue.

'It's time to wake up Sugar, the world is waaaaiitttinggg~' the face sing-songed. I tried to reach out to the face, but I couldn't, I had no hands. I didn't want to wake up. I didn't know why, but I knew that there was bad things out there. It was safe here in the dark.

'Come on Sugar, you can't hid forever. You need to face the world,' the face said, and I felt hands push me gently forward. I tried to fight against it, I wanted to sleep forever. But the face would have nothing of it.

I was pushed again, harder this time, and I could hear laughter behind me. I tried to tell the voice that I didn't want to go, that I was too scared to, but I had no voice.

With one last push, I was thrust into the land of the living. The bright fluorescent lights blinded me, and I immediately closed my eyes again. The sound of a heart monitor was the only noise in the room. When my eyes adjusted to the light, I opened them again.

There was no one in my room, the only living thing a fly that had been trapped in the window blinds. I looked around, and saw my room was full of flowers. This confused me. Where was I?

It then dawned on me. Who I was, where I was, what had happened. I was Cara Forrest, wife of Elliot Forrest, pregnant with Rose Forrest. I was in the hospital because my husband beat me so bad I needed to come to the hospital.

I looked down at my stomach, expecting to see the large bump, but it wasn't there. Pure ice dripped down my spine. I couldn't breath. I began to hyperventilate, making my heartbeat rapidly rise, setting off an alarm. A nurse ran in, and she was the first ones to hear my screams of anguish.

He had taken her away. HE had taken her away! I wanted to tell the nurse, but all I could do was scream and make guttural noises. My mouth hurt extremely, but I didn't care. My heart hurt more. It was as if my soul had been ripped out.

A small pinprick in my arm told me the nurse was giving me drugs, the other nurses that had run in were holding down my thrashing limbs. No, I didn't want to be sedated. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to hurt him for hurting me. I wanted to kill him for killing her.

But the familiar blackness was surrounding me, and before I was completely surrounded, I tried to say something, but my lips failed me.

When the dark swallowed me whole, I weeped. The white face looked enraged and sorrowful at the same time. I recognized the face and voice now. It was The Joker, and he represented my conscience. Strange how an insane mass murderer was my conscience.

Maybe that meant bad things were going to happen soon.

~Gordon POV

I was just leaving the hospital when it happened.

Barbra couldn't bring Jimmy to his checkup today, so I had to bring him, even though The Joker was on the run. We had just finished, and we were just leaving to go home. Jimmy had a cherry Dum-Dum in his hand, looking very proud to flaunt his newly acquired Spongebob sticker. For a moment, I believed it was going to be an ok day. But I was very, very wrong.

The Joker had already struck.

When Mrs. Forrest was brought into Gotham Medical, I almost threw up. She was covered in her own blood, stomach cut open, blood pouring out of her mouth. She was unconscious on the stretcher, and if I didn't know any better, she was dead.

Who I assumed was her husband ran along next to her, screaming at the doctors to help her. He was covered in her blood, looking very upset. The doctors wheeled her quickly into the ER, her husband left behind.

I ran up to him, Jimmy trailing behind. Her husband quickly spilled out his story, telling me The Joker had done. The more I was told, the sicker I became. No human being with half a soul would do this. I consoled Mr. Forrest to the best of my abilities, but he barely calmed. I got a few officers to watch him while I took Jimmy home.

When I returned, I learned that Mrs. Forrest had lost the baby, was in critical condition, and had a forty-percent change of living. The doctors also sedated Mr. Forrest when he stated to tear the office apart. I waited outside doors, watching as other people were wheeled in and out. Every outpatient was happy, oblivious to what had just occurred. They were lucky.

A while later a doctor came out to tell me how Mrs. Forrest was doing and her injuries. Several contusions in the torso was what cost her the baby. Several broken ribs, as if she was kicked while she was down were also believed to be another cause. A broken left humerus (upper arm) and fractured right tibia and fibula.

I thought the doctor was done but he wasn't. The Joker had tried to cut out her tongue, as if he was saying she wouldn't spill anything about him. With that, I determined she knew something The Joker didn't want getting out. But I would bother with that later, and I asked the Doctor about how she was doing.

After telling me she would survive, but would probably need extensive therapy, the doctor left. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. So much for having a calm day.

~Joker POV

Wow. I'm surprised. Even with me on the loose, security at the hospital was still below zero. I practically walked right in. Of course, I wasn't dressed in my usual purple robes. The liquid latex that covered my scars bothered me, but I fought off the urge to scratch it all off. THat would ruin my whole plan.

Of course my plan was to catch Mr. Wonderful Husband and make him squeal, clearing my name. But I had to see something first. I wanted to see if she was alive.

The news only said she was attacked, not whether she was alive or not. I had a feeling she was, since her husband didn't seem THAT upset, but you can never tell with homicidal husbands.

I figured they were not saying she was alive outright on TV so I wouldn't come and 'finish the job'. What they didn't know was that I never started the job in the first place.

As I posed as a reporter for the Gotham Times, I managed to get to her room. I was told that she was currently sedated, and that she wouldn't be able to answer any questions. Before I could smartly ell the nurse that if she was sedated, she wouldn't be able to do anything, I walked into the room.

What I saw made me smack my lips together.

"Well well well Sugar, you don't look so good," I muttered, walking to the front of the bed to read her chart. What I read made me smack my lips again. So, Mr. Wonderful Husband was afraid of her talking. Well, that didn't matter, she wasn't going to be the one who was going to talk.

It was then when I read that she had lost the baby, and I had a faint feeling of anger. So faint, that it was gone in an instant. I didn't feel for her, but I remembered how protective she was of her baby, and now she had nothing. Her husband was worse than me.

And people called ME crazy. I shrugged, and threw the clipboard over my shoulder. Before I walked out, I sent one last glance at the Golden-Girl, and stopped, sucking on my scars. I then decided I would let her get some sort of revenge, she at least deserved it. But I was going to have the most fun making him squeal.

No one messes with The Joker and expects to get away with it.

No one.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N Thank you Alice Ecila, SwNightmare, XpsychoBabtDollX, Sithlord8665, and forgetmenotflowers for the reviews! Cake and ice cream for all!

And for the next few weeks, until September 7th, I shall try, try, tryyy to write a chapter a day. Then it will probably become a chapter or two a week. Until I finish the story of course. Now, Enjoy chapter five!

DIS: DC no be mine. Cara be mine.

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

The Joker conscience was really annoying. He just kept talking and talking how foolish I was, how I could have stopped all this from happening. No amount of screaming on my part silenced him. I thought consciences were supposed to tell you right from wrong, not tell you you're an idiot and make you feel a thousand times worse than you did.

He was right, I knew he was. I should have left when I could, all those years ago, but I was stupid. I was holding onto a false hope that he may change, that everything would go back to being normal. I was a goddamned fool. The Joker face seemed to agree, and started cackling. I wish I had a shoe to throw at him. But alas, in the darkness, there is nothing to throw.

Suddenly I heard a voice, the same Joker voice, but it was faint, as if I was actually hearing it rather than imagining it.

"Well well well Sugar, you don't look so good," I barely caught, and the Joker face in front of me paused, as if thinking.

The Joker was in my room, and I was unconscious. Fan-freakin-tastic. I waited for him to pull the plug on me, but nothing came. That when I started to think that I was just imagining it, just like I was imagining the Joker conscience. I had to see.

I began to fight through the layers of darkness, the sticky vines gripping onto me in a vice grip, but I fought. The Joker conscience just laughed as a went. But I ignored him. He was just an ass.

Suddenly I heard a slap, and I was back in the light. But I was too late. I saw the retreating back of a man who was wearing a tan coat instead of purple. And he had dirty blonde hair instead of green. But when he turned his head to look at me, I recognized his dark and smoldering eyes.

I guessed he didn't see that I was awake because he just walked out. I wanted him to tell me why he had come, but I had no way of telling him that, I made a coughing noise but he never came back. I was alone, again. Alone to stare at my flat stomach.

I probably looked pathetic to him, half dead on this hospital bed. I needed to get out of here, but at the moment it was impossible. The nurses had strapped me down last time they were in here. I also guessed I wasn't even close to be fully healed.

I was also curious as to why The Joker had come to see me. Had he come to kill me, or check up on me? Or was I just delirious and imagining things. It was possible. I was on so many painkillers I they were probably eating away my brain.

Suddenly I began to cry quietly. When I got out, I was going to get my revenge.

~Joker POV

Once I was clear of the hospital doors, I began giggling madly. This was becoming more entertaining by the second!

One of the boys that was waiting for me started rambling about seeing aliens on the roof of the hospital, and I patted his cheek, and told him he was crazy. He then started to go on about purple monkeys, and I just got in the car, laughing. That kid was seriously in need of a bullet in the head.

I gave the driver the ok to go, and we were off. I scratched my face, remembered the latex, and began scratching furiously. By the time we reached the safe house, my scars could breath again. I told the boys to find Mr. Wonderful Husband, and not to disturb me until they found him. After that I walked into my glorious castle and to my room.

I needed some sort of plan in order for this to go like I wanted it to. But first, I think I'm going to need some money.

~Normal POV

For the next month after his escape, The Joker ran amok. He robbed four banks, blew up one DMV, along with six blocks in the Narrows and a jewelry store, and visited a Donut Shop. The people of Gotham were practically hiding in their homes.

Stealing the 'small' amounts of money the mob had left, daring The Bat-Man to come out, and causing general mayhem caused The Joker to go a little ADD. He completely forgot about Mr. 'Wonderful Husband' and how he he wrongfully blamed The Joker for beating his wife and killing his unborn child.

It wasn't until he saw Mrs. Forrest at a donut shop. He accidentally killed his last free goon, and got hungry. So he slapped on some latex, changed out of his purple threads, and went to the donut shop in a nice part of Gotham. Couldn't go to the same donut shop too many times you know.

~~Cara POV

A month I spent in that disease ridden place, and the bastard didn't come once. Not once! I know I shouldn't want him near me, but I think I at least deserved a bouquet of flowers. But no. The only things I had for company was Joker conscience and Nurse Sally.

She was amazing, honestly. In her mid sixties, with graying auburn hair, she was still beautiful. She told me stories about she had an abusive boyfriend, and ended up having his baby. I wanted to tell her I was the same, I knew the pain, but I couldn't.

I tried to write them down for her, but I had the shakes half the time, and my handwriting was illegible. This frustrated me to the extreme, because I couldn't tell her that it was my husband, not The Joker.

Not that she would believe me anyway. She was too kind to think that a husband who so valiantly rescued his wife was actually the attacker himself.

In the third week, I finally wrote it down, and gave it to Gordon, who had come to visit me with his wife. Gordon thought I was just too scared to say it was The Joker, and mad at my husband for being too busy to come see me. I started crying out of frustration, and he misread that. He thought he had guessed right, and I was crying out of fear.

His wife tried to console me, but I pushed her away. I didn't want to be comforted, I wanted to be believed. I tried to tell Gordon that he was wrong, but to no avail. They left, Gordon saying he was going to call Elliot and tell him to come visit me.

I buried my face in my pillow, screaming.

When Sally came in, I showed her my story, pointing frantically, hoping, praying she would believe me, but she just sighed sadly and shook her head.

"Dearie, I know you're scared, I would be too, but your husband is out there, working because the hospital bills are ridiculous... I also think he's scared to come here too. He's ashamed of himself because he wasn't there to protect you. You have a great husband Cara," she said kindly. So kindly, I couldn't get mad at her. I just patted her hand, holding back my sobs.

Between Sally's kindness, and Joker Conscience's drive to get me up and moving, I was fully healed and released in a month. The Joker conscience wasn't as bad as I had thought. After the first week, he actually helped. He was like a personal cheer leader, telling me that once I was better I could strangle my husband. Or could divorce him, and take everything he owns and will own. He had a lot of good ideas.

Once I got out, I had decided to divorce him THEN strangle him.

When I got out this time, Sally gave me a new change of clothes, which was a relief. I thanked her profusely, to the best of my ability. It was really just me weeping and hugging her really tight. The doctor gave me the number to a speech therapist and after swearing to take it easy, and I was released.

A few days ago, Gordon said he wanted me under police watch 24/7, but I told (wrote out) him that I would be fine, and to use his cops to catch The Joker. After a lot of angry motioning and unintelligible speech from me, he finally complied. Who wants cops following them all the time anyway?

I wasn't going home, I decided that long ago. Never again would I go back. Well...maybe to go get some clothes. But I had to make sure HE wasn't home first. I don't think there would be a welcome home party if he was.

So instead, I decided to go to get a donut, I was hungry after all. So I walked a block to Steve's Donuts, a decent donut shop. While I was in the hospital, I watched the news almost constantly. Hospital TV sucks by the way. But I digress.

There was no doubt that The Joker was causing absolute mayhem, and yet people refused to ask Batman for help. I don't think they noticed that The Joker wouldn't be caught by the police.

As I walked into Steve's Donuts, it was pretty empty. There were two cops sitting at a table, talking, and one man at the counter. The cops seemed to recognize me, and were staring, distracting me. Next thing I knew, I ran into the man from the counter. I looked up to apologize, but stopped. One, I couldn't properly say it, and two I would know those smoldering eyes anyway.

Now, you would think The Clown Prince of Crime would be out running around, blowing up buildings, but no. He was out getting doughnuts. That made perfect sense.

That Joker lifted a finger to his lips, telling me to stay quiet, dark brown eyes filled with absolute amusement. He bent down to get his doughnuts, and picked up the pink box.

"Pardon me, uh, Miss," he drawled, and I could tell he was suppressing his laughter. He then brushed past me and left. I watched him skip to a black car, and speed off. Skipping. Oh yes, that was The Joker.

I sent a quick glance to the cops in the corner, but they were too busy devouring their doughnuts to watch what had just happened. I looked back outside, but nothing was there but the normal Gothamites. Sighing under my breath, I walked up to the counter. Once I got my doughnuts, I noticed I had had my hand on my stomach. I left the doughnut shop miserable.

Thankfully, when I swung by my apartment, there was no one there. Well, unless you count the blond Swede that was wearing one of my nighties as a someone. Needless to say, it was very awkward. The language barrier didn't help, and I eventually just pointed to my ring finger, then to a picture of Elliot. She seemed to understand then.

Her lack of guilt when she realized I was his wife didn't bother me. I don't think it ever would have. I grabbed a large suitcase, and began packing. The swedish woman's name was Astrid, from what I could understand, and actually was helpful. I guess having legs a million miles long came in handy when you needed to get things on high shelves. Once I was packed, I grabbed a plastic box in the back of the closet. It was my mementoes, photos, old stuffed animal. It was a flash back into a time where I was happy. When Astrid's back was turned, I took as much money as I could from the secret stash. It would be enough to sustain me until I got a job.

With a smile and a wave to Astrid, I left. And in good time too. I was just leaving when he walked in. I don't think I've ever moved so fast.

A few hours later I was a a motel, munching on a doughnut. I would have called a lawyer, to start the divorce, but I couldn't talk on the phone. So I decided to go to the courthouse the next day and write it all out.

I climbed into bed, and cried for the first time in two weeks. I fell asleep with a tissue stuck to my face.

~Joker POV

Bob's jelly doughnuts were better than Steve's, and looks more like blood. Very funny when I stumbled into the safehouse covered in jelly, scaring the boys into believing I had gotten shot. Oh the laughs I had.

One of the boys brought me what I had sent them all out for, stolen guns from one of Maroni's gun dealers. That made me start laughing all over again. I skipped around the safehouse, shooting out the windows as I went. I was having so much FUN.

And Ms. Golden-Girl reminded me that I had something I needed to do. I needed to clear my name, and now that she was out of the hospital, I can go on and do what I wanted to do.

Public humiliation, revenge, and entertainment rolled into one. This was much more entertaining than being locked up in Arkham.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- To LuciansLycanNightShade, Sithlord8665, Fruityloops87, XPsychoBabyDollX, and Vintage-Wonder…. Party hats and Ice-cream cake for all! Thank you all so much :)

Two chapters in one day! WOO!

This chapter is a little short, but I wanted to end it where I left it.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer of Death: Must I really put one here every time I write a chapter? I think it's already said that I don't own it if I'm writing a FANfiction... Anyone else think so?

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

'Babe...Baby wake up... Cara... Love you... Please wake up...'

I opened my eyes, and there he was. My vision was kind of blurry, but I knew it was him. After twelve years, I would know that face anywhere. The only thing that was in focus were his eyes. A soft blue, with flecks of grey and green, and full of love.

I reached up, and caressed his face, feeling myself smile. This was the man I married. He leant down, and our lips came together, and I felt my heart melt with happiness. This was the only thing I wanted.

Suddenly he pulled back, something in his eyes had changed. I asked him what was wrong, or at least I think I did, but he didn't seem to hear me. He started looking around frantically, like he lost something.

I sat up, vision still blurry from sleep I guess, and I asked him what he had lost. But he just kept tearing up our apartment, looking. He ran into the other room, and I followed, calling after him. There was a loud crash, like a window had just shattered, and he froze. Then he looked at me, and his eyes had changed.

There was a crazy look in them. I took a step back, and he took one forward.

"Where is itttt," he hissed under his breath, and I shivered in fear.

"W-What?" I stuttered back. Terror seared through me, and all I wanted to do was run. I was wrong, this wasn't the man I had married, this was his shadow.

He began to throw pictures, memories, onto the ground, shattering them. Then he began screaming, how I had hid it, how I had taken it from him. I tried to tell him I had no clue what he was talking about, but he just lunged for me.

My throat was being crushed in his grip, his face in front of mine, spitting in anger. It was then I realized what he was looking for. What he had lost. What had broken.

He had lost himself, his sanity had cracked. He had become a sociopath, unable to feel. I hadn't taken anything from him, he had lost it himself. He was a demon.

My blurry vision became even worse, and my instincts kicked in. I began to thrash in his grip, yanking at his hair and scratching his face, but he didn't move. Not an inch. It was as if he couldn't feel anything. He just kept screaming at me to give it back, and I started to lose consciousness.

I was being sent to a place past the darkness, past The Joker conscience, past Sally, past the Golden Gates of Tartarus. He was going to complete what he planned to do in the first place. In one last ditch attempt to save myself, I kicked him, but he didn't even wince.

Suddenly he was gone, pulled off of me. I gasped for air when I hit the ground, gripping my bruised neck.

"I think-ah...you're done here Misterrrr," I heard a deep voice drawl, and I tried to look up, but my neck was to badly hurt.

"She took it! SHE TOOK IT!" the demon screamed back, and I heard a fight begin. Growls, grunts and shouts were the only sounds I could determine. And as soon as it started, it was over with a gunshot. At some point I had curled up in a ball, something warm in my arms. I didn't know what it was, but I had to protect it.

What seemed like hours passed, until finally someone limped over to me. I kept my eyes shut, fearing the worst.

"Uh...Sugar, you can't stay here forever. Unless you'd rather preferrrr-"

I opened my eyes, and there was The Joker, without makeup and sans purple suit, in perfect clarity. I sat up slowly, shocked. The Joker had saved me...why? Before I could ask, the thing in my arms made a noise, and I looked down.

A baby girl was bundled up in a plush grey blanket, and she looked up at me with the clearest blue eyes I've ever seen. I looked back up at The Joker, to find that he was watching her intently. There was something in his eyes that I couldn't place. It looked like...compassion?

No, no. It couldn't be. This was The Joker, not Batman. He was just another sociopath who wanted to watch the world burn. He would rather slit my throat than show me compassion.

...Then why had he saved me. I opened my mouth to ask, but instead of words, butterflies flew out of my mouth. I immediately shut my mouth, and The Joker began to laugh madly. The Clown Prince of Crime stood up, and offered a purple gloved hand to me. Apprehensively, I took it, and he yanked me up none to gently. I looked back down to the baby, but it was gone, only a grey blanket lay in my arms. I looked back up, fear in my eyes, and The Joker just shushed me, petting my face harshly. He wasn't a gentle person was he.

Suddenly, he twirled around, and he was in his purple suit and face paint. He took a few steps from me, fixing his lapels. Then he grinned and winked at me, before heading for the door. I looked around, and saw that he had slain the demon.

The feeling of being set free came over me in a crashing wave, and I fell to my knees. The Joker heard me, and stopped in the doorway. He only turned his head so he could see me through the corner of his eye. It was then I found my voice.

"Thank you," I whispered, before blacking out.

At exactly 3:26 a.m., I woke with a start. It was a dream. The whole thing was a dream...  I thought, sitting up slowly. But it was so real... The Joker looked so real... And the baby... I really held her in my arms...

I cried again, this time not for myself, but for my daughter who never had a chance. After a while, I stopped crying, and got out of bed.

I wasn't scared anymore.

I didn't care if he could kill me.

I would kill him first.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello lovelies! Thanks to forgetmenotflowers! You get a nice flat screen TV and a brand new car! -confetti falls0

Dis: The usual

Oh, and does anyone else like LOVE batman/catwoman? I just finished watching Batman Returns with Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Keaton, and the line where Bruce is trying to convince Selena that she doesn't have to kill her old boss, telling her they were the same, split right down the middle, touched me. -shrugs- might just be me, I dunno. ANYDOODLES! On to the story!

~~/~~

~Normal POV

For the next week, there was neither sight nor sound of The Joker, and that made everyone nervous. What was the madman planning? Was he going to blow up another hospital? Their questions were finally answered when GCN received a tape.

It was in the normal Joker packaging, ripped purple wrapping paper stuck on haphazardly, with a green stick-on bow. Yup, definitely The Joker. After the bomb squad and the drug dogs cleared it, Commissioner Gordon personally opened the box. Inside was a tape.

The police first analyzed it for prints, clues, anything, but found none. Then they watched the tape all the way through. What they saw disturbed them.

A male manikin with a brown afro wig and a poorly drawn face was standing in front of a wall that was covered in a red substance. Gordon prayed it wasn't blood.

That was when The Joker's face filled the screen.

"Hello... Gotham Police DepartmenT... Tonight, tonight I want you to do ME...a favor. I want the illustrious police department of this 'perfecT' city, to bring me...Elliot Forrest," The Joker said, smacking his lips together a few times as he paused.

"You see, uh, I was wrongly accused of murder in the firsT degree, along with assaulT... but I didn't do those things. I didn't," he finished with a low growl, which sent shivers down several officers spines.

"But I won't tell you who DID. I'll let you tell you HIMself... but you need to bring him to me first... then maybe I'll spare all the people in the Gotham Mega-Mall," that seemed to amuse him, so he started giggling.

"You have one hour, *hehehehe*" the camera turned black, but his laughter still played, growing stronger and stronger until the screen went to static. Several officers looked at Gordon expectantly, awaiting orders.

Gordon's head was in overdrive. It was Saturday afternoon, there was no telling how many people were at the Gotham Mega Mall at that time. He guessed thousands. Thousands of lives for one man. No. Gordon would save them all. The Joker was the one who beat Cara Forrest, not her husband.

Suddenly, Gordon stopped, remembering something. A few weeks before, Cara had wrote out what had happened to her. She said it was her husband who had beat her, not The Joker... Maybe she had been telling the truth...

Nevertheless, Gordon couldn't hand someone over willingly to that madman. So Gordon made up his mind. He rapidly told his men to evacuate everyone from the mall, which should be a lot easier than with Gotham Central. He told Ramirez and Smith to go with him.

"Where are we going Commissioner?" Ramirez asked, grabbing her gun.

"We're going to pay Mr. Forrest a visit. I'm not going to let that madman get a hold of him before I can question him," was Gordon's quick response.

~Cara POV

It took me a whole week to plan it, my revenge. It took so long because I planned for everything. From a sudden furniture rearranging, to Astrid's presence. Everything. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING was going to stop me from killing the bastard tonight.

I dressed in all grey, so I could blend in a little easier if it were dark or light in the apartment. I even spray painted a pair of tennis shoes grey. Grey track pants, grey hoodie. The only color I had was my shirt. It was a bright electric blue, my favorite color, my color color. It was easily covered by zipping up my hoodie.

I packed a small bag with knives and an extendable fighting pole. When I was growing up, I had a friend who's dad was a cop. Every weekend for a couple of weeks, my friend and his dad taught me how to fight. It was minimal, but it would be enough to hold him off till I killed him.

Once I went through my plan one last time, I left the room, expecting not to come back. My plan was pretty simple. Break in silently, ambush, fight long enough find an opening, and stab him in his black heart. Or perhaps in the leg, that way I could tell him how much I hated him then stab him in the heart. Either way, I was going to kill him.

One way or another.

~Joker POV

One og the boys lost the address of Mr. Forrest. He was currently enjoying a swim in the Gotham River. So I came up with plan B.

I knew the Commissioner wouldn't give me Forrest. He was too good of a person for that. He wouldn't sacrifice one person for thousands of whiny pre-teens and slutty teens. But... he would lead me to Forrest. Good ol' Gordon. Always so... reliable.

As soon as he pulled out of the department's parking lot, I was immediately on his tail. Well, not right on his tail, that would have been a dead giveaway. I kept a safe distance, giggling as I did so.

When we finally arrived at a very tall, very shiny building, I waited for the Commissioner to park before I set off a small bomb near the mall, a simple distraction. Even from two cars away I could hear Gordon yelling.

"IT HASN'T BEEN AN HOUR!" with that, the car sped off at mach six. I let myself laugh for that one. Oooooo, fanccyyyyy, there's a valet! And it's free! I like free. It's better than paying!

I left the car with the valet, after threatening to carve his face if he scratched the paint of course. I think he was being paid too much. He didn't even open the door for me. The nerve of some people. You would think they have seen a clown before.

Usually I bring a goon or two on 'missions', but I thought going solo on this one would make it more... satisfying. I made sure I had my camera before I waltzed in, and as I said, I waltzed right into the shiny building.

My presence caused a little commotion, but a few bullets shot through the ceiling shut everyone up. I told the few scared citizens of Gotham that they could call the police after I came back down, but if they showed up before hand, I would blow up the whole building.

It was a total bluff, but they didn't have to know that. Clear reputation, here I come I thought, skipping and laughing to the elevator. Before the doors closed, I remembered something.

"WHAT FLOOR IS FORREST ON!" I bellowed, holding the elevator door open by a few inches.

"f-fif-fifteen, room Fifteen C" the stewardess called, absolutely terrified. I saluted her comically, before letting the doors close. I laughed the whole way up.

~~Cara POV

Everything was going according to plan. I walked in unnoticed, and quickly ascended to my floor in the elevator. In said elevator, I quickly zipped up my hoodie, pulled up my hood, and slipped a parring knife in my sleeve. Just in case.

When I arrived at my floor, my adrenaline started pumping. I quickly ran to my apartment, pulling out my key from my pocket. Silently and stealthily, I opened the door and slid in. I heard noise in the bedroom, and I almost threw up. But I pulled up my big girl panties and fought off the urge.

I looked around the apartment, noticing the last few pictures of me had been disposed of.

How sweet, I thought, pulling out my extendable fighting pole. I then decided to wait till he was done with whatever he was doing, and ambush him when he walked out. I hid next to the fridge, stepping over the squeaky floorboards. I calmed my breathing, and waited.

I was going to get my revenge.

~Joker POV

Can this elevator mov any slower? I would shoot it if I could, but that would make it stop completely, then I was stuck. So instead I tapped my foot and checked my wrist repeatedly. At floor fourteen, I remembered I didn't wear a watch, and stopped. Right as the number turned '15', I pressed the emergency stop button, and then opened the doors. I didn't want to wait for the elevator to 'lock' in place, and lifted myself onto the 15th floor.

"I thought fancy buildings like this were supposed to have super speedy elevators," I muttered, throwing my backpack full of items over my shoulder. Whistling as I sauntered down the hall, I past 15A, 15B, and soon arrived to 15C.

I bent down, lock picks in hand, but it was already unlocked. Guess Mr. Forrest was expecting guests. I hope he has strudel, I love strudel. I giggled, and opened the door with a flourish.

"Luuuccyyyy I'm hooommeee! You got some 'splain-" I stopped when I saw what was in front of me.

~~Cara POV

It didn't take long for him to finish, which was expected. I pressed the hidden button on my staff, and it silently extended. Heavy footsteps came towards me, and I took one last final breath, before I struck.

He really didn't expect my fist connecting with his face, which made me happy. But it didn't take him long to recover. Then it really began.

Once he was done griping his hurt jaw, he stood straight.

"So, you finally came... you know, I always believed you would run away as soon as you could, but you never did. You are so weak, you can't even tell the police what really happened," he began to circle me, but I stood my ground.

"You're pathetic, you can't do anything, you never could do anything. You can't even keep a baby!"

That. That made me mad. More than mad. Enraged. So, I let him know. With a nice sharp kick in the balls. As expected he went down, and down hard. Then another kick to the gut, and a sharp whack pole. A few more kicks and whacks, and I was ALMOST satisfied. Almost. I got down on his level, knife in hand. He looked up at me, actually looking scared.

"P-please, I'll do anything," he said as I pressed the knife to his throat.

"I wan my augher back," I growled. Even with my impaired speech, I'm pretty sure he got the message.

Suddenly, right before I stabbed the bastard in the heart, the door burst open, making me look up.

"Luuuccyyyy I'm hooommeee! You got some 'splain-" none other than The Joker stood there, arms wide as if awaiting a hug, and staring right at me over Elliot.

It was like that for a minute or two, just the two of us staring at each other. Then I waved awkwardly at him, while Elliot groaned. I just kicked him again, making him scream out. That made a girl who was not Astrid come out.

"Honey? Is like, everything ok?" she asked, but even before she could see what was going on, The Joker shot her right through the heart. Needless to say, that set me off. To the best of my abilities, I portrayed my problem. The Joker just waved me off, and walked over to me and Elliot.

Stepping in front of my prey, I hissed, which made him laugh.

"No protecting him now Sugar, now that you took his ability to procreate, it's my turn to play," he drawled, using one finger to push me aside. I growled, and took a step forward.

"Oi wan ki hee," I 'said', and he chuckled, shaking his head, green hair flopping side to side.

"You need to work on your French-a Sugar," he said, turning to me. His eyes were full of deadly excitement, and that would have scared me before, but now it just angered me. This wasn't a joke, this was my revenge.

"Don ya da," I said, standing my ground.

"Don't I dare what? Take him away? Oh Sugar, Sugar, Suuugar, I need him. AND! And. If he's alive when I'm done, I'll-ah, hand him over to ya," he responded, seemingly very amused. But I didn't want him to be amused. I stomped my foot in anger, shaking my head.

Sadly, neither of us saw the demon recover and stand up. He had also managed to find a knife from somewhere. I only noticed when the knife reflected the light into my eyes.

I wasn't thinking at all when I grabbed the Joker and pulled him out of harms way. Elliot tried to attack again, but The Joker had already caught on, and back handed Elliot so hard, the demon went flying. The weak bastard passed out after that.

Both The Joker and I looked at each other. He just shrugged when I angrily pointed at the man on the floor.

"What? You're acting like you wanted me to get hurt!" he said with mock surprise, and I just rolled my eyes before facepalming.

I definitely wasn't planning on this. Not for The Joker to ruin everything. Of course, he just HAD to show up. Just HAD to get even. What about me? The woman who had been through hell every night for three years. Oh yeah, let's just forget about her!

Throwing my hands up in the air, I finally just picked up my stuff, and headed for the door.

"Hey! Sugar! Where ya goin?" The Joker called behind me, and I just threw my hands in the air again. He could do whatever he wanted, he did so anyway.

I was so close to getting my revenge, I could taste it.

~Joker POV

Needless to say, I was surprised. Didn't know Golden-Girl had it in her. Guess this world is full of surprises.

And MAN was she pissed when I busted in and stole her prize. I could see it in her eyes. They were like liquid ice, cold enough to freeze a man's soul. To bad I didn't have one. But she was very entertaining, now that she grew a pair. And she tried so hard to keep her kill, but I had to let Gordon know who the real baby-killer was!

Like any good sitcom, you don't let the viewers wait too long! Finally, she gave up, throwing her hands in the air, almost hitting me in the face by the way. But what she didn't know, was that she had given up as soon as I walked through the door. She no longer was the harbinger of death for Mr. Forrest, she lost the will to kill.

She didn't know that of course, she thought she could still kill him. But I knew, I KNEW she couldn't. And I wasn't about to tell her that she couldn't, so I decided to take the burden off her shoulders.

As she stormed out of the room, I noticed she held herself higher than she used to, and that made me giggle.

This was going to be a LOT more fun than I thought. I picked up Mr. Forrest, and carried him out over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I found Golden-Girl at the elevator, staring at it. Stopping next to her, I stared at it too. It was halfway up the doorway, open and waiting. All she did was look at me, looking unamused.

"Elevator is to slow," I muttered, before throwing Mr. Forrest into the elevator unceremoniously. I grunted, and climbed in myself.

With a salute, I pressed the down button, and down I went. I don't think she realized I saw her face of relief when she was finally truly free. I laughed, kicking Mr. Forrest harshly when he moaned. Time to send Gotham a message.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N Thanks to randombanana342, XPsychoBabyDollX and Vintage-Wonder! You all are wonderful :

Disclaimer of Doom: Blah blah blah

~~/~~

~Joker POV

Once Mr. Forrest and I arrived on the bottom floor, I mercifully kicked him out of the elevator, and into the lobby. I continued this process, rolling him around the floor, giggling, until we got to the front door. By that time, Mr. Forrest was screaming every time I kicked him, which was expected. He seemed like a man with low pain tolerance.

I got him out of the door, and looked at the valet expectantly. Less than a minute later, my car was purring beside the sidewalk. I tossed a wad of cash at the kid, before picking up Mr. Forrest and throwing him into the car.

I sniffed, licking my lips, before getting into the driver seat. Mr. Forrest had pulled himself up, and was sitting properly. As soon as I started driving, he seemed to regain the use of his brain, and started yelling and trying to open the door.

"I, uh, have the child lock on, so save youselF some time," I said over my shoulder, turning sharply, throwing him into the other side of the car.

"You better let me go... I am a very important person! You can't do this to me!" he shouted, growing some balls. Laughter bubbled up from my throat, and I was soon laughing so hard I could barely see straight. The car began to swerve back and forth, banging up against the adjacent cars. Several accidents were caused this day, all because a girly man finally grew some.

I managed to get back under control before I caused some serious damage, and set a course for the safe house. Apparently my driving the poor bloke in my backseat, as he was clinging onto the little handle thing that ran along the roof, looking paler than me! I always believed that wasn't possible. Guess I was wrong.

As soon as we reached the safe house and I parked the car and unlocked the doors, the wife beater jumped out and started to run. I yanked out my gun to shoot him, but I didn't have to. The bastard tripped over his own feet and fell on his face. For the next minute or two, I just stood there, laughing my ass off. It was so hard not to fall over onto the ground, so I put my hands on my knees to steady myself.

While I was laughing, he tried to get back up and get back to his escape, but he tripped again, dust flying up everywhere. At that point, I fell onto the ground and laughed. Mr. Wonderful at that point gave up, and waited for me to go get him. What did I look like, a butler? Hell no.

So I just threatened to shoot his balls off, and he scrambled up. He fell one last time, making me giggle, but I needed to concentrate, so I stopped. My gun was pressed against his back the whole walk into the building.

"Here we are! Home sweet home," I said, motioning for him to seat himself on a couch. I could tell he was disgusted by my humble abode, and I could practically see the comments forming in his head, but he thought better of saying them. Slowly he walked to the couch, and sat himself down. Several of my boys came out of the cracks in the walls, (well, not literally, but you get what I mean) and tied up his hands and feet. One of them went to put a gag on him, but I stopped him before he could.

"Nuh uh. I want to...TALK with this one first," I explained, and they all scattered. Giggling, I flipped back my hair, studying the pathetic man on my couch.

He wasn't a lot to look at, kinda homely lookin actually. He had really whispy curly hair, like a jew-fro gone wrong, in a light greyish brown color. He also had a very girly face, long eyelashes and high cheek bones. His hands even looked like a girls. I giggled. Girly man. No wonder he beats up his wife, he's jealous that she's a hundred times prettier than him. More giggling as I set up the camera.

"What are you going to do with me?" Even his voice is girly. It's not deep, like my own, but high, almost falsetto. Why would ANY woman want to be with THIS guy? Let alone let him beat her. Next time I see Golden Girl, I'm gonna drag her to a hospital to get her a cat-scan. Or was it MRI? Whichever X-ray thingy that checks the brain, that one.

Because SERIOUSLYyyy, there must be something wrong with her, like, seriously wrong. Not like Golden Girl was Aphrodite, but she was pretty cute, 'specially when she get's frustrated and her brows furrow and her nostrils flare. The point is, she could do a lot better than this wet blanket.

Even someone with my lovely face would be better than him. I hummed to myself, feeling very good about myself. Now that was an idea. My staring disturbed the curly haired man, and he began to fidget, sweating profusely. I smirked and smacked my lips together, continuing my staring.

"Am I, uh, bothering you Forrest?" I asked, sucking on my scars. At first he didn't answer, probably too afraid to, so I waved my hand around, prompting him to speak.

"Forrest, Elliot Forrest... and no you aren't. You don't scare me," he said, his voice brave, but his eyes showed his fear. I brought out a knife and flicked it open. His flinch didn't go unnoticed by me. I began to pick my teeth with the tip of the blade, still watching him.

After a few minutes of him shaking, I stopped, and pointed at him with the knife.

"You brought this onto yourself ya know. You just HAD to hit her didn't cha? Now, I don't really care about THAT, because THAT is none of mu, uh, business. But what I DO care abouT, is-" I started, but he cut me off viciously.

"Do you really think that a man with MY reputation would ruin it by admitting that I beat my wife? Hell no. I'm one of the most highly paid photographers in the country, and I would like to stay that way. Having a wife was a pain in the ass enough, chained to one woman when I could have any woman. And then she had to go get pregnant! It's like she wanted to ruin my life! At least before I could take her to premiers if I couldn't find another broad, but once she got pregnant, it was embarrassing. She just got fatter and fatter, and wanted me to go to these classes and go pick out things for the baby. It was always about the baby, and she never got it through her thick skull that I didn't care! I even told her to her face that I didn't want her or the baby, at all, but she just stood there crying. Even when I hit her she didn't get the message. She was ruining my life! So, when I heard you had kidnapped her, I almost sent you money and a nice bottle of Merlot," he paused a minute, his eyes full of hatred. I could tell it wasn't directed at me, and that bugged me. Before I could say or do anything, he started up again.

"But instead of killing her and the baby like I hoped you would, you let her live. Why? The world has enough stupid bitches in this world, why let one live? Instead of coming home though, she stayed away, and I prayed she would stay away for ever, but she didn't. She came back the same day you escaped. The perfect excuse. I could get away with murder, and you would just have another tally mark in your file. I wanted, no, I needed a scapegoat, and you were it. I should be thanking you really, you gave me a reason to get rid of the bitch. Hopeless she was, hopeless, stupid, and ugly as hell... I hate her, I hate her so much..." he finished with a sneer of disgust.

I folded my hands under my chin, looking thoughtful. After a minute, I stood up, folding my hands behind my back to pace back and forth. Suddenly I backhanded him, sending him flying into the side of the couch. Then I grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him up, holding a knife in front of his face.

"You have no clue what you had, do you? You see... A man is supposed to PROTECT-ah his wife, not beat her up. I had a wife, a long, long time ago, and she loved me JUST as much as Golden Girl loves you. No matter what happened, I protected her. When she got in deep with the sharks, and they carved up her face, I was sick, not because she was cut up, but beCAUSE I wasn'T THERE to stop them... now I have these beauty marks, because the guilT was too much for me," I put the blade in his mouth as I growled and shouted in his face, and he began to shake with fear again.

"But THAT is besides the point... blaming lil ol' me for beating your wife, that was crossing the line. I mean, didn't your mother teach you lying is bad?" I asked him, and he tried to nod his head, but I gripped his hair harshly. He whimpered, and a laughed in his face. The fear in his eyes was delicious.

Suddenly I thought of Golden Girl, how many times she looked into these eyes, terrified. I stopped laughing, and sucked on my scars. This guy was nothing to be afraid of, he was weak, girly, easily intimidated. But to her, this guy was a demon.

"You, uh, left some pretty scars of Golden Girl... let's see what yo look like with some just like hers, shall we?"

Right before I slit his cheek, the window was busted in, making me jump up. I nicked the inside of the bastards mouth, making him cry out, and I told him to grow up. Calling my men in, I surveyed the room. I had lost track of time during our little conversation, and it had become night. The Bat Man's time.

I heard cries and shouts, and I pulled out a gun. So the Bat Man decided to show up did he? Wanted to save a baby killer? Let's see if he could save a dead man. But before I could put a bullet between the wet blanket's eyes, The Bat Man punched me right in the jaw. That made me laugh.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't The Bat Man! Come to save the day? I thought you were retired! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to play with you Bats," I said, which made The Bat Man lunge at me again. I managed to flit out of his way.

"BUT! But, but! You should question that man on the couch over there, the one who wet himself. He's a wife beater you know, killed his own baby!" I laughed at Bats, but as usual, the moron wasn't listening, and kicked my ass anyway.

Thankfully, I had a backup plan. Have I ever mentioned that I love bombs? Perfect way to escape, and maybe kill a bastard or two. Of course I didn't escape totally unscathed, but I was well enough to run to a car and drive away as fast as I could.

By the time The Bat Man ran out, carrying Mr. Wonderful over his shoulder, I was long gone. As I drove, I became angrier and angrier. I had forgotten to press record on the tape recorder!

Bats owed me. Big time. But for now, I needed a place to stay.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: The list of awesomeness (aka the lovelies who reviewed) : forgetmenotflowers, Aoi Name-chan, Vintage-Wonder and XPsychoBabyDollX. You are all lovely, like the name lovelies suggests

Another short chapter! I apologize. I may be able to make it up by putting up another chapter today :)

Dis: I'm not going to put one anymore, just wastes space

~~/~~

~Normal POV

As The Joker ran off to go hide in another hole, The Batman, Gotham PD and the Gotham fire department dealt with his mess. His hideout had been filled with explosives, and had taken out half a block in the process. Needless to say, no one was happy. Even The Joker was upset. Of course, he was upset for a different reason.

During the investigation, most cops on the scene pretended they didn't see Batman. Despite that, Batman stuck to the shadows. Once Batman deemed the situation to be under control, he left and dropped Mr. Forrest off at a hospital. He then began his search for The Joker. The Joker needed to be put away immediately.

Elliot Forrest checked himself out of the hospital as soon as he was bandaged up. Then he called a friend of his, who usually knew where everyone was most times of the day. After a few minutes of yelling into the phone, he found out where his pathetic wife was staying. As soon as he got out of the front doors, he got into the nearest cab and told the driver to take him to a motel on the other side of town.

Half way there, he remembered he needed some things, and told the driver to take him home. Since she planned his demise, he would plan hers. No one messes with Elliot Forrest and gets away with it.

~~Cara POV

Ugh, what a day. Every molecule in my body ached, and I quickly filled up the tub and dumped a bunch of bubble bath in the mix. Bubbles always make me feel better after a long day. As soon as it was filled, I hoped right in, and sighed contentedly.

Even though I wasn't able to kill the bastard, I still felt like I got my revenge. I'm pretty sure Elliot wasn't going to survive his encounter with The Clown Prince of Crime. And The Joker was more likely to prolong the torture, unlike me. I wanted to kill him and kill him then, but The Joker... The Joker wanted Elliot to suffer. And at this moment, I want the bastard to suffer too. But The Joker was better qualified for the job.

As I soaked, I began to think of what I could do now that I was a free woman. I should probably go back home, reconnect with my family. It's been a few years since I've seen them... I didn't want them to see me beaten and bruised. Believe it or not, I used to be a strong woman. Many guys called me feminist, because whenever some jackass made a 'kitchen' joke, I would either smack them or glare at them.

My thoughts and opinions were always heard, and when I believed I was in the right, I would fight until cold hard evidence that said otherwise was waved right in front of my face. Younger girls in high school that hung out in the group tended to come to me for advice and looked at me for protection against any guy that was mean or creepy.

When they had boyfriend troubles, they came to me. When they liked a guy, they came to me. When one of my guy friends wanted to ask a girl out, they came to me. When anyone felt threatened, they came to me. I protected them. All of them. Always.

There was this guy named Jim, and he was a total creeper. Went after every piece of ass he could. Even the freshmen who were just finishing puberty.

One day, I was delivering something for my english teacher, and I heard screams. I ran. It was Nicole, a youngster. He had her pinned, hand crushing her throat. Blood dripped from her mouth. He laughed in her face. Anger. Fear. Red. There was a brick. It wasn't heavy at all. Then Nicole was safe, but I wasn't. Now his prey was me. His hand on my neck instead of hers. Everything started to go black, Nicole's screams the only thing I heard. Then he was gone, and there was Elliot. My knight in shining armor. I should have seen then that his eyes were the same as Jim's. Bloodthirsty.

I was strong. But so weak at the same time. My mind was strong, but my heart was weak. I love too easily. I forgive too easily...

The water was freezing and all the bubbles were gone, and I snapped out of my reverie, shivering.

"Damn... What happened..." it was a duel question. I got out of the tub, and wrapped myself up in a towel, and walked out into the bedroom. Rolling my neck, wincing slightly when it cracked, and was about to sit on the bed, when I heard the TV on. I looked over, confused. I didn't remember turning on the TV. Shrugging, figuring I had done it without thinking, I walked into the small living room towards the TV. There was no remote, so I walked straight to the TV and flicked it off. A noise behind me made me gasp and turn. A face, and then a crash against my head.

Everything went black. Suddenly, Joker conscience was back, screaming at me to get up, to fight back. He was furious at me.

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE AS SOON AS YOU COULD! WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME!" he hollered, and I shrunk away from him. That wasn't what he wanted, so he started talking to me calmly, gently.

"Please wake up Sugar, you need to wake up, otherwise we're both gonna be dead, and even though I would LOVE to see what's after life, I don't wanna die just yet. SO! Please get up!" Well, he asked nicely. Even though he is just a figment of my imagination, Joker conscience was more realistic than ideas usually are. He was very persuasive. I practically felt him pick me up and shove me to the light. So I started pushing my way through the darkness, and suddenly my eyes fluttered open.

My head was killing me, and my vision was blurry as hell. I couldn't see anything, I could barely think, it hurt so bad, and I was going to die. FANTASTIC!

The sound of a zipper being unzipped made my blood freeze. I was his wife, and he was gonna rape me? Oh yeah, classic. I swear, I'm going to haunt him for the rest of eternity.

He climbed on top of me, and I felt the towel being pulled away, and I tried to fight, but my arms nor legs weren't working. I screamed at them to move, even an inch, but nothing happened. I started to cry, and I was slapped. That almost made me black out again, put I held on. Barely.

Then it started. I don't know how long it lasted, but it felt like a life time. Suddenly, he was gone. I tried to raise my head, hearing noises and shouts, but I was falling further and further into the darkness. Before I was completely gone, the noises stopped, and someone ran to me and lifted my head.

"Hang on," the person said, but it was too late. I was gone.

Needless to say, Joker conscience wasn't happy to see me.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N For those who reviewed (aka Vintage-Wonder, forgetmenotflowers, Sithlord8665, CrimsonAngel22, XPsychoBabyDollX) you all get a new puppy! That's already potty trained! YAY!

Another short chapter, and I apologize. I went to the beach today, and the sand was so hot, it actually BURNED my feet to the point of blistering. So I've been uncomfortable all day, and since my mom is always hovering, I haven't had a chance to write today. SO! I shall make it up tomorrow with a longer chapter

Let the madness begin!

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

'Sugar... Sugar you're safe now... he's not gonna come hurt ya again... you can, uh, stop hiding now... come on Sugar,'

I hissed at Joker conscience from my little hole within my mind. My safe place. Nothing can hurt me in here. Not Elliot, not The Joker, nothing can. The Joker conscience was a downfall though. He had been trying to get me to come out of my safe place for a while now, but I wasn't ready.

I wasn't ready to face the world yet. I wanted to feel safe for a little while longer. Another reason why I didn't want to leave, was the memories. Out there, I would have to live with all of them flashing in my mind. I didn't want that. But Joker conscience had another idea.

'Come out!' he yelled, peering into my safe place. I yelled at him back, telling him to go away.

'Oh no Sugar, you, are coming out-ah, RIGHT NOW!' he grabbed me, and started to pull me out of my safe place. I clawed at him, but my nails slipped right off of him as if he was made of plastic. After what seemed like hours, he had pulled me into the normal world of darkness. As soon as he let me go, I tried to run back, but he grabbed hold of me again.

'You're staying right here Sugar, you're not, uh, running anymore,' Joker conscience said in my ear. That's when the memories started, the hurt, the fear. I came crashing into me like a speeding train. I cried out, and gripped onto Joker conscience, and he held me up.

'It's over Sugar, no need to be afraid,'

I looked up at him, my eyes full of hate. He wasn't the real Joker, he was me. THe strong me. The me I had lost. The me I wanted back. Joker conscience laughed.

'You're not ready yet Sugar, you need-ah more time to geT back on your feeT,'

I was too tired to argue with him, making him laugh.

'Soon Sugar. Soon,'

After that, I don't remember anything until I woke up.

I was in the hospital, again. Damn it. I was JUST here. My hospital bills are NEVER going to be paid. Like, EVER. That made me groan. I didn't want to owe the hospital money. Just another thing I had to deal with. Fantastic. After a few more minutes of anger, I looked around for a sign of who had saved me and then brought me here.

I found nothing, and also saw that I didn't have an IV plugged into me. A sign that I could leave when I wanted. Which means my bill could be stopped right now. I sat up, and walked to the small bathroom. There, on the widow, was a Bat sticky note.

I stared at it for a few minutes. ...Sticky Notes...Really Batman? Really? After I got over the fact that Batman had sticky notes made in the shape of a Bat, I read the note.

'I'm sorry none of us believed you'. I scoffed. Yeah, after all this happens you're sorry. Stupid jerks. Tucking the note away in my bra, I did my business, and left my room.

Deciding to visit the nurses station to ask about my insurance, I doubled back. And to my surprise, Sally was working! Her face seemed to light up when she saw me, which made me smile back. First I tried to ask her about my bills, but I gave up, and took a notepad from her.

Scribbling down my inquiry, I then gave it to her, and she read it quickly.

"Oh, honey, your bills were already paid!" she exclaimed once she brought up my name on her ancient computer. That confused me, and it showed on my face.

"Batman paid,' Sally explained. I stared at her like she grew another head.

"Apparently he has room for a credit card in his utility belt,"

I chuckled, shaking my head.

Now I owed Batman more than my life. Could I even forward money to a vigilante? I wrote that to Sally, and she laughed a tinkling life.

"No honey, you can't forward him money," I scowled.

"Just live with it sweetpea. If a man wants to pay, let him," she said wisely. I nodded in agreement. Then I remembered something. Where was my wonderful husband? I asked Sally, and her mood immediately darkened.

"The bastard's in Recovery... Batman did a very good number on him, which he deserved," she muttered, and it surprised me. Sally seemed to be too nice to curse, even speak badly about a person. Guess I just suck at judging character.

"And Gordon is already filing against him for rape, assault, and murder, and even said he could pull some strings for you to get a good lawyer and pay nothing," putting my husband away seemed to cheer her up. Sally was a strange old lady.

For the next few minutes she talked about how sorry Gordon was, and then stopped. Her eyes held such shame and sadness. She was sorry she didn't believe me. I reached over the counter and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"It's okaw," I said to her, a few tears escaping out of her eyes.

"I should have seen the signs," she whispered back, and I shook my head.

"I forgwive joo Sawwy," I said truthfully, and more tears fell from her face. Her other hand slid over mine.

"If you EVER need anything, you let me know, ok?" she sniffed, and I nodded. She wrote down her number, and after a few more minutes of her apologizing, I finally left.

I had half a mind to go to recovery, just to see him weak and defenseless, but a voice over the television stopped me.

"Hello Gotham! Did you-ah, miss me?" The Joker was on the news, again. I sighed, and stopped to watch the TV with everyone else.

"I see you FINALLY figured ouT who was the real baby killer. Do you feel-ah stupid now?" he cackled. He looked well... for the most part... he did look like he hasn't slept in a few days though... I stopped myself from worrying about him, and went back to watching.

The Joker kept laughing, and spread his arms wide.

"And nowwww I hear, the illustrious Gotham PD has the FAAAABulous Elliot Forrest in the hospital... and you know... I haven't taughT Mr. Forrest a lesson yet about lying... So..." he paused, and got super close to the camera so only his lips showed.

"Be careful," he growled, and the camera shut off. I suppressed a shiver after he growled, and immediately made for an exit.

I don't know about anyone else, but I did NOT want to be around when The Joker enacted his revenge.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N SS-lover06, XPsychoBabyDollX, forgetmenotflowers and Sithlord8665 get a nice bouquet of flowers and chocolates along with a video came of choice! Thank you all so much!

And here we, GO!

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

I hadn't realized how much my head was hurting until I walked out of the hospital. The doctor had said I had a slight concussion, and all I needed was rest really. Then he ran off to another patient. I would hate to be an emergency room doctor. People's lives always in your hands.

All the cabs were taken, due to the fact that it was early in the morning, so I had to walk. At least this time I knew how to get home. When I had woken up, I was in clothes, which I hadn't thought about it until I started walking down the sidewalk. I wasn't wearing clothes when I was rescued... My face turned bright red. Batman saw me naked... I coughed a few times, embarrassed.

Stopping on a street corner, waiting to cross, my head pounding. I needed to get home, and soon, my head was killing me and my vision kept going in and out.

I looked across the street, and almost choked on my own spit. The Joker, in disguise, was talking to a cop like they were best friends, a box of doughnuts in his arms. I pretended I hadn't seen him, and hoped he wouldn't see me. My breathing came quick, and I felt lightheaded. Was it because of The Joker? Or something more serious.

The little walking man appeared on the crosswalk sign, and I crossed. It was as if my feet weighed a ton. My vision started to darken, and it became harder to breath. As I crossed, The Joker noticed me. One look at my face, and he grinned madly. The officer was still next to him, so I gave no sign of recognition.

I felt something warm run down from my nose, but I kept walking. I glanced at The Joker again, and his grin was gone, instead he had a frown on his face. About halfway across, my knees started to go weak. Before I fell, The Joker grabbed me, keeping me up.

"You don't look so hot Sugar," he said under his breath, and I managed to chuckle. He had no clue how bad he looked. But before I could tell him, my eyes rolled into my head.

~Joker POV

I was just out meandering around, enjoying the freedom, watching the chaos around me. The latex wasn't as itchy as last time, so I didn't have the need to scratch it off immediately. Then my stomach reminded me that I needed to eat once in a while. So I went to Steve's Doughnuts, and picked up a box.

On the street corner, there was a cop, who looked very distressed. Deciding to see how stupid the Gotham PD really was, I struck up a conversation. Turned out he just found out his girlfriend was cheating on him. It was too bad, the guy seemed like a relatively 'good' guy. A normal person would try to cheer him up, so that's what I did.

"Well, it'll come back and get her in the, uh, end," I said, seeing if he noticed my speech pattern. He didn't. He laughed sadly and nodded. Man this light takes forever. I told him a few jokes, and he was soon laughing. That's when I looked across the street.

Man, Golden Girl looks like shit. The light changed (finally) and I started to cross. So did Golden Girl, and I smiled at her. Next second, I noticed blood dripping from her nose, and I frowned. That wasn't a good sign. Next thing I knew, she was falling. I didn't want to catch her, but my arms shot out and caught her anyway. She owed me $6.50 for a new box of doughnuts.

A strand of hair had fallen into her face, and I brushed it away. Her eyes connected with mine, and I flashed my infamous smile at her.

"You don't look so hot Sugar," I murmured, and I saw the corner of her mouth twitch, as if she tried to smile. Recognition flashed in her eyes, before they rolled into the back of her head.

"Not good," I muttered, picking her up. My new cop buddy was calling a bus, and I told him to cancel it. When asked why, I told him I could carry her faster than an ambulance. He complied, and I started in the direction of the hospital.

Once I was far enough away, I ducked into an alleyway, and started to make my way 'home'. Golden Girl remained unconscious, or dead I couldn't tell, in my arms. I was doing well until I ended up at a dead end and a ten foot chain link fence. To top it all off, barbed wire lined the top.

I willed it to blow up for a few minutes, hoping the number of times I've seen Star Wars and the jedi mind tricks would work, but it didn't. Finally, I turned and walked the other direction. Golden Girl wasn't large, 140-145 pounds at most, but that doesn't mean it was very fun to carry her dead weight around for a long time.

So I set her down on the ground, bending backwards to crack my back.

"You know Sugar, I just remembered I still, uh, hafta take ya on that date," I giggled, remembering our first kiss on the bus. Seemed like just yesterday when I had first met her. Who knew she would be so much fun? I sat down next to her quiet form, poking her with my foot every few seconds.

"Hey Sugar, you still alive? 'cause there's more fun to be had," I said, smacking my lips together. No response. So I continued poking her. She would get up eventually.

~~Cara POV

I was expecting to see The Joker conscience immediately after I fell into the darkness, like usual, but he wasn't there. So I sat in the darkness, alone, for who knows how long. It was a little scary, the silence, the absolute darkness. I tried to call out a few times for Joker conscience, but no sound left me. Hugging my knees to my chest, I closed my eyes and waited. A lonely life I lived, if I was so dependent on figments of my imagination.

After a while, I heard footsteps from far away, and I looked in that direction. A small purple dot was miles away. So I quickly got up, and started running in the purple dot's direction. The closer I got, the more defined the dot became. A mop of green hair, black eyes, white face, and a bright red mouth. It was Joker conscience. I wasn't alone anymore.

As soon as I was in leaping distance, I leaped into his arms. He didn't even stumble, it was as if I weighed nothing.

"Miss me Sugar?" he said after a second, smiling at me madly. I nodded, making him laugh loudly.

"I had things to uh... deal with..." he explained slowly, choosing his words carefully. His dark eyes flicked to mine, and I saw a flash of something in his eyes.

"It's time Sugar," he suddenly said, and my brows furrowed. What did he mean? Joker conscience placed me down gently so my feet were set firmly on the ground. His gloved hands remained on my shoulders, and he looked me straight in the eyes.

"Time to be strong again Sugar. Time to wake up," he said in a deep voice, a sane voice. What? Already? But he had just got here, why did I have to go? As if he could read my mind, he chuckled and patted my head.

"Don't worry Sugar, Joker conscience will always be here whenever you get hit over the head with a baseball bat," and with that, he shoved me away from him. I fell back into the light, swearing at him the whole way. Even though I had created him, he was such an ass sometimes.

I woke up in a dank and dark alleyway, NOT the place I wanted to be. Remaining still, I looked around without moving my head. Yup, nothing I saw made me feel any safer. A felt my side being poked repeatedly, and I held my breath. Great, a hobo found me, and was using me as entertainment. I steeled myself, deciding to flip over and scare the hobo off.

So I did so, and instead of scaring off a hobo, I made The Joker fall over laughing. I stared blankly at the laughing man, not amused. Unlike Joker conscience, I wasn't happy to see the real Joker. While the one was my anchor to sanity, the other was the push that sent me to insanity. If I had to chose life with The Joker, or unlife with Joker conscience, Joker conscience and I would be together forever.

But I couldn't say this of course. One because I lacked the ability to, the other because I wanted to keep my bruised face as it is, not worse. When The Joker finally stopped laughing, he sat criss-crossed and put his hands on his knees, leaning forward. He looked like an ape. An insane ape with horrible teeth.

"Gooooooood morning Sugar," he said, still smiling. I looked around again, looking for some help, but there was none. Seeing that my only company currently was The Joker, and there was no one else in sight, I figured he was the one who helped me. Why he hadn't just taken me back to the hospital was annoying me.

I looked at him, hoping my annoyance was portrayed through my eyes. It was, because he reached out and flicked my nose.

"StoP scowlin Sugar, it's unbecoming of a young lady!" he said in a shrill voice, placing his hand on his chest and attempting to look 'sophisticated'. I kept scowling, making him flick my nose again. I flinched, snapping my teeth together in an attempt to bite him.

He found that amusing, and I sat waiting for him to finish. He waved his pointer finger at me while he laughed. Suddenly he stopped laughing and grabbed me, getting right in my face, a knife in his hand.

"I wouldn't do THAT again Sugar. Otherwise... I'll hafta hurt that pretty black and blue face of yoursss," he hissed, spit flying into my face. I will admit, I was a little scared, and I'm sure it showed on my face, but I was more entranced by his smoldering eyes to really worry about him carving my face. Oh, THAT'S a great sign.

The Joker's dark eyes changed from enraged to amused. He liked scaring me. Bastard. His grip on my face loosened, yet remained. Now he was studying me. I wanted to sarcastically ask him if I had something on my face, just to get to him. Perhaps even make him laugh. But alas. I WILL regain my ability to speak, then I can talk everyone's ear off. And trust me, I will.

The knife disappeared, and Joker took off his glove. Confusion was on my face and he just shushed me. His ungloved hand came up to trace the small scars on my face. I hadn't had the chance to conceal those, so they were quite visible, and that made me self-conscious. He started to press lightly on the bruises, making me wince and mewl in pain. Shushing me again, he lifted my chin to look at my pure black and blue neck.

"He really did a number on ya Sugar. Too bad the Bat Man took him away before I, uh, taught him a lesson," he said, still studying. Once he finished, he backed away and released me. There was something in his eyes, something that he tried so hard to hide, his humanity.

"I'm fien," I told him, struggling slightly with the words. My head had stopped hurting, and I actually did feel fine. I actually felt a lot better than I have in a long time. To test my health, I stood up, waiting for the pounding in my head. It never came. For now at least. The threat was still there however, and I knew if I over-exerted myself too far, I would end up paying for it.

Looking down at The Joker, I saw that he was looking up at me like a little kid. I motioned for him to get up, holding out a hand to him. He stared at it forever, like it was something dead. I rolled my eyes, and lowered my hand, but he suddenly grabbed it and pulled me down. Crying out, I landed in his lap, disgruntled.

"Stop tat," I snapped, trying to get up, but he just laughed and held me to him. He then stood up with me in his arms.

"I'm never gonna stop Sugar, not till you stop being so damn fun," he said, and carried me out of the alleyway bridal style. I groaned, and closed my eyes, hoping the nightmare would end soon.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: To: SwNightmare, Sithlord8665, XPsychoBabyDollX, forgetmenotflowers. Thank you for reviewing, I'm so happy you like it :)

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

I had no clue where the madman was taking me, and I decided not to ask. I did however, ask him to put me down, but he just laughed. As we walked down the sidewalk, everyone was looking at us strangely. I would think The Joker wouldn't want to attract attention to himself, but no. He was acting like it was normal for a man to carry a annoyed looking woman down the sidewalk.

Of course, The Joker himself wasn't normal. Well, in the skewed definition of normal at least. Normal was just a facade, a lie. No one was normal, but they ran around pretending they were. Then it dawned on me.

That's why The Joker hated everyone, because we all lied to ourselves. We all tried so hard to be normal, when it was so easy to just be our non-normal selves. He was one of the few people to flipped the middle finger at the world and walked around being true to himself. And that scared people. Well, that and the fact that he blows up buildings and kidnaps people. That's definitely another reason why everyone was afraid of him.

I looked up at him, only seeing the underside of his face. He had some white paint still on the underside of his chin, along with behind his ears. Apparently he didn't try very hard to get his makeup off. If you looked closely enough, you could totally tell that he was The Joker. His hair was still green for heavens sake! People were really stupid.

The Joker looked down at me, grinning.

"What's got-ah your panties in a twissst Sugar?" he drawled, a knowing look on his face. I pointed at him, then made a gesture that meant the rest of the world. I don't think he understood the last one, but he understood me pointing at him. That made him laugh.

"Oh no Sugar, if I had anything to do with your, uh, panties, you wouldn't be wearing them, if you geT my drifT," he winked down at me, before whooping with laughter. I blazed red, glaring at him. How dare he! I am a young woman, and should be treated as such! I continued this rant in my mind for several minutes, wishing I could slap that grin off his face. Men were disgusting creatures.

Suddenly he dropped me, right on my ass. I cried out in surprise and pain, while he laughed his ass off. I rubbed my sore behind, while he began to skip inside a sketchy looking building. Standing up and dusting dust off my clothes, I surveyed the building I was standing in front of. It was old, about to fall apart, with weeds and wildflowers growing in every nook and cranny. Half of the windows were boarded up, and the rest were either broken or so dirty you couldn't see through them.

For a moment I was alone, no one to stop me from running, and I seriously contemplated it. I even started to turn around to start running, but The Joker came prancing back out, looking proud of himself, like he had just brought me to the Taj Mahal.

"Whatcha think Sugar? Home sweet home," he giggled, looking at me expectantly.

"It loookz liek sheet," I said blandly, and he stopped laughing to glare at me.

"Well I'm sorry if I can'T afford the ritz Sugar," he growled, a knife glinting in his hand.

"Con't I jus go home?" I responded, and he thought about it for a second, sucking on his scars. Then he shook his hands, and grabbed my wrist.

"No, no you 'con't'," he said, dragging me into the old and decrepit building. I didn't even bother fighting back at this point. I had figured out that fighting was useless, he would get his way anyways. Cheeky bastard.

Thankfully, the inside wasn't as bad as the outside, once you get past the thick layer of dust and the few rats running around. Boxes were everywhere, what they were filled with I had no idea, and I didn't want to know. Unless they were filled with adorable alive and healthy kittens, then I would want to know.

The Joker continued to drag me around, even when he was just going around the room, checking that everything was where it was meant to be. A few henchmen were here and there, and they stared at me, some of them looking at me with pity. What, did I look like a damsel in distress? After a while, I started to believe The Joker had forgotten he was leading me around, and cleared my throat. He turned and looked at me, annoyed.

"I'm lookingggg... for a nice place for you to sit your royal tush on Sugar, be patient with me," he said, before continuing dragging me along. I'm pretty sure he just enjoyed dragging me along with him. Either that, or he really wanted to find me a clean spot to sit.

"I don min seeting on dirt," I told him, and with that, he let go of my arm, and continued walking, his mind on some other planet now. I found a innocent looking box and sat down, watching him. He was interesting to watch. As soon as he had let me go, he immediately started work as if I wasn't there. Bossing people around, demanding certain chemicals, ordering pizza, peeling off his 'normal' clothes and latex makeup, putting on his colorful dreads and painting his face, cutting up magazines for their letters, among other things.

It wasn't till a few hours later that he remembered I was still here. He was in the middle of making a bomb when his head snapped up to stare right at me. I had been swinging my foot back and forth for a while, hands on my knees. When he looked at me, I waved, but it didn't seem to compute in his mind, because he looked back down to keep working. I guess only half his brain remembered I was there. The other half was creating chaos. Sighing, I tried to entertain myself by drumming my fingers on the box. I had a pretty good beat going when The Joker's large and stained hand slammed over my drumming one. Wincing, I looked up at him.

The sleepy look in his eyes told me that he had been in deep thought, and his scars puckered as he tried to frown. I tried to look as apologetic as I could, with my bruised face, and it seemed to work, for the most part, because he left and went back to work after that. What a strange man. I thought to myself, half watching him work, half day-dreaming. I could be home, in a soft bed, nice cuppah tea in hand, watching CSI or Law and Order, but no, I'm here, watching The Joker talk to himself as he builds a bomb.

His deep voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Sugar, if you're hungry, Josey over there-ah, got some food," he said, not looking up from his work. Looking over, I saw a small latino man, who looked very tough, holding a box of pizza. I blinked, and looked back at The Joker. If he thought I was just going to WALK to a gangster, and steal a slice, he has the wrong idea.

But before I could say anything, 'Josey' appeared before me, and offered me a slice.

"Tank you," I said quietly, not really looking him in the eyes.

"You're welcome chica," 'Josey' replied, leaning against my box to my left, munching on his own slice of pizza. Once he finished the slice, he glanced up at me.

"So, how did a mamacita like choo end up with heem?" he nodded in the direction of The Joker, who was muttering under his breath.

"Long storey," I said after a second of thought. Josey nodded in understanding, and pulled out another slice.

He didn't speak again till he finished that slice.

"Wat's your name mamacita?"

"Cara Forr- Snow. Cara Snow," I decided to give him my maiden name, since I was going to be a Snow again soon anyway. Josey nodded, and smiled at me.

"José Hernandez," he said, and I almost facepalmed. The Joker was such an ass.

"Niece to meeet joo," I said, trying really hard to speak normally, but my tongue was starting to get tired. It was easier to speak now though, which made me happy. José started to talk to me, telling me about himself, and I only half listened. I was more focused on The Joker, who was trying to pull a latex glove onto his head. To be honest, I wasn't that surprised.

After a few minutes, he actually managed to pull it onto his head, and looked over at me, looking very very proud of himself. I half expected him to say 'LOOK MUMMY! I DEED EET!', but he didn't. His face said it instead. I snorted, giggled, and nodded my head. A silent approval.

José was still talking, not even realizing I had stopped paying attention completely. I had thought The Joker had seen José talking to me, but I guess I was wrong.

"OI! Josey, git away from her! Make yourself useful before I shoot you!" he snapped, and José ran off without saying goodbye. I only missed him because he took the pizza with him.

Looking back at The Joker, he was already back at work, muttering to himself, latex glove still on his head.

Why do I have a feeling that my life is going to become a lot more complicated now?


	13. Chapter 13

A/N So sorry I didn't update yesterday! I typed up a whole chapter, and then my dad closed the word project when he used it to check his emails. Stupidly, I didn't save it. So I had to start all over. This chapter is a little rushed because of that. So sorry again!

I'm glad everyone enjoyed The Joker and his latex glove hat. I wanted to break the cycle of depression with a little comedy, and it paid off.

A HUGE thank you (which includes a pink box of doughnuts) to~ SWNightmare, Vintage-Wonder, linnie kinda spinnie, XPsychoBabyDollX, and Sithlord8665

And now, Enjoy!

~~/~~

~Joker POV

When I was young, my mother took me to the doctors, to get 'checked out'. She thought I had a 'mental problem', something like Attention Deficit Disorder. It all started when my grades started to fluctuate drastically, and when I wanted to go do more entertaining things other than classwork. Next thing I know, my teacher is asking to have a parent teacher conference, told my dear old mother that I had 'problems with concentrating', and suggested getting me checked out.

The next day my mother took me to a doctor, who did some bull-shit tests, and 'diagnosed' me with Attention Deficit Disorder and immediately put me on some meds. I only took them for one day, only because my mother forced me to, and then hid the rest in my dresser drawer. The side effects were absolutely horrible.

They made me sit there, calmlike, and it was torture. It suppressed my thoughts, made me groggy, a constant haze was over me. Life was so boring, as if the reason for my entire existence was taken away. I was born to create chaos, born to move around and run around. But the drug stopped me from doing that.

Which is why when my mother did her 'spring cleaning' one year, she found hundreds of pills in my underwear drawer. She wasn't surprised really. I always believed she knew it would happen even before she took me to the doctor.

Don't worry, finally getting to the moral of the story here.

I never grew out of my 'special ability', as I liked to call it. I could concentrate for hours, hell, even days, but once in a while I needed to take a break.

So after hours of working, I needed to take a break. I looked up at Cara, who hadn't moved from sitting on top of a box of very high grade of explosives. I guess she didn't know they were explosive. Her sitting on the box was safe, but when she started tapping her fingers on the box, that raised the danger level a bit.

At the moment I really didn't want to be blown up, so I got up and slammed my hand over hers, making her stop, and a silent message to not do it again. She looked up at me with clear blue eyes, not saying a word, not like she could. It was said in 'olden times', that a woman was more attractive when she didn't open her mouth. That was a very big lie. Verbal banter was tons of fun.

But Golden Girl lacked the ability to speak, or to speak well, so there wasn't going to be any verbal banter for a little while. Her face however, made up for her inabilities at the moment. So as I stared down into her eyes, I could tell she was confused and intrigued. ay Instead of telling her that if she tapped on the box any longer, it would blow up, I just walked away.

Going back to work, which included making a bomb that was really for nothing, just a bomb that I could have on hand, I felt her eyes on me. In fact, the whole time I worked I felt her eyes on me, and that amused me. She could leave whenever she wanted, but she was content to just sit there and watch me.

Strange girl she was. Strange girl indeed.

A little while later, her stomach started growling, and I don't think she noticed. I looked up, and it was obvious she was in her own little world. I had told Josey to go get some food a little while ago, and called over to Golden Girl. She looked a little dazed, like I had woken her up, and I sent Josey over to her.

After that I began to work again. I pulled out one too many latex gloves, and suddenly got an idea. I frantically began to pull the glove onto my head. Once I got it on, I looked up at Golden Girl, who had been watching me. One look at me, her boredom quickly disappeared. She snorted a laugh, and nodded, approving of my new hat.

Not only was she strange, but she had an excellent taste in hats.

Once I finished building 'das bobme of death', I got up and stretched. My back cracked loudly, and I smacked my lips together. Who needs a chiropractor? I giggled, and decided to go bug Ms. Golden Girl.

Still sitting straight and proper on the box of explosives, Golden Girl was in her own little world. She seemed like the imaginative type, just something mystical about her. I skipped over, standing before her form. At first she didn't see me, until I waved in front of her face, making her jump up.

"Wha?" she said as she jumped, eyes coming into focus.

"You, uh, ok Sugar? Kinda lost you there for a minute," I said to her, making her scowl.

"Cannn I go hom now?" her voice laced with annoyance and sleepiness. I stifled a laugh, placing a closed fist at my mouth.

"Nothing's stopin you Sugar," I coughed, before turning around and started to walk away. Hearing her stand up, I looked over my shoulder, only to see her fall to the ground. Laughing loudly, I didn't move to help her. She had been sitting so long that her legs wouldn't work now.

I felt her eyes burning into me, and I glanced at her. If looks could kill. Save a lot of people the trouble she would. Once I stopped laughing, I walked over to her and lifted her up over my shoulder. She cried out, and began to hit my back with closed fists. I just laughed at her, and 'accidentally' put my hand on her nice behind.

"Hey!"

She needs to learn how to laugh more, and I think I can do something to help that. As long as she stays entertaining of course.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N XPsychoBabyDollX, forgetmenotflowers, Vintage-Wonder, SwNightmare, linnie kinda spinnie, you all get a free copy of Liar Liar and some popcorn :)

Nothing really funny in this chapter, next will be a little more humorous.

Enjoyyyy~!

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

What am I, a sack of potatoes? Apparently I was because The Joker definitely like throwing me around like I was one. Cheeky bastard. I felt his hand land on my ass, and I slapped his back sharply.

"HEY!" I cried, but it just made him laugh harder. With a deft smack on my rear end, he carried me throughout the hideout.

It still looked like shit, even from this angle. We walked through what looked like a makeshift kitchen and living area, and I swear I saw a rat the size of a cat run over the stove. But before I could say anything, The Joker walked into a larger room, like a warehouse. Men and cars were here, along with a very large pile of money.

Some of the guys were loading money into bags, and throwing the bags into cars. Again, before I could see or say anything else, I was carried to another part of the building. I was carried up some stairs, down a hall, and then into a small bedroom. My blood ran cold. I began to struggle, screaming, but The Joker just threw me on the bed, looking extremely annoyed.

"Jeeze Sugar, stop screaming!" he hollered, flapping his hands at me. I stopped screaming, watching him warily. He grabbed me chin roughly, eyes aflame.

"Listen, and listen well Sugar. Rape is noT my game. No fun at allll. Soooo... if you know what's best for you Sugar, I would be quieT," he growled, and I felt myself calm down, if only a little. I stayed quiet as he let go of me, and walked over to a bookshelf. To be honest I was expecting him to just turn around and throw a knife at me, just to get me out of his hair, but he didn't. Instead he turned with two movies in his hands.

He walked to me, all anger gone from him. Kneeling in front of me, he held the two movies up.

"Ok Sugar which one do ya wanna watch?" he asked me, smacking his lips together. I stared at him like he grew another head. One minute, he's threatening me, the next he's asking me to watch a movie. Yup, he definitely needs to go back to Arkham. He rattled the DVD boxes, urging me to answer more quickly. 'Liar Liar' or 'Nightmare on Elm Street'. Two totally different movies.

I pointed to 'Liar Liar', and he jumped up, running to the small television across the room. I pushed the DVD into the DVD player, and turned on the TV. Running back to me, he jumped onto the bed, making me fall over with the large bounce it caused. An 'eeep!' escaped me, and it made him laugh loudly. He himself was lying on his back, looking at me through his mop of green hair. I glared at him for laughing at me, my own hair going everywhere.

Sitting up, I fixed my hair, before finally deciding to just put it up. Using a scrunchie that was always on my wrist, I quickly tied my hair up. I felt The Joker's eyes on me, and I turned to look at him. His arms were behind his head, and he was grinning at me. When the menu came up on the screen, he didn't even break eye contact when he pressed play.

There was something in his eyes that made me turn away. The movie began, and I folded my legs underneath me, sitting upright. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw The Joker sit up, grab a pillow, and turn to lay on his stomach next to me. This was so weird... sitting on The Joker's bed, watching a movie. No guns, no bombs, no hostages, no threats, no knives, nothing. It was a moment of... normalcy.

A while later, I found myself laughing loudly with The Joker as Jim Carrey beat himself up in the bathroom. This had been happening for a while now, the laughter. And I couldn't help it, it was a funny movie. Soon I was laughing so hard I fell back, my legs flailing in the air. It had been what seemed like eternity since I have laughed this hard. Or even at all.

Life wasn't good enough to let me laugh. But right now, life seemed ok enough to let me have this one moment to laugh my heart out. And I did. The Joker next to me was laughing just as loud, but I had a feeling he was laughing at me too. Soon my laughter died, and I wiped tears from my eyes, before sitting up to watch the rest of the movie. I looked over at The Joker, only to see that he was staring at me, grinning madly again, like he knew something I didn't.

"Wha?" I asked him, becoming self conscious.

"You need to, uh, smile more Sugar," was his only response.

That day I have a feeling that The Joker and I made a connection, barely. Just barely. He's still a murderous madman.

~Joker POV

I loved scaring people almost as much as I loved causing chaos. But her screaming in fear of me raping her did NOT amuse me. Rape was so... pathetic. The need to feel in total control, was not my game. Also, it's never fun if the woman isn't into it either, so what's the point.

But I guess she was so abused that she immediately assumes the worst. I only wanted to watch a movie with her, jeeze. I had been working all day, and she had been sitting on her ass. I don't know about her, but I'm bored out of my freakin' mind. Something needed to be done to entertain us both.

So I took her upstairs to watch a movie, and she panics. Jeeze, what did her husband do to her? Seriously.

After I calmed her down, I went to my stash of movies. Scanning the titles for a few seconds, deciding to not choose Saw I, I chose Liar Liar and Nightmare on Elm Street. When I turned to look at her, I saw her fear in her eyes. She still thought I was going to hurt her. But she doesn't understand that if I was going to hurt her, I would have done so already. Of course, I wouldn't tell her that. She would have to figure that out on her own.

I walked back to her, and knelt down to her level. The fear disappeared from her eyes, only to be replaced by interest. For a moment, her eyes became clouded, and I knew she was lost in her own mind again, thinking. It was said that the eyes are the window to the soul, and it's correct. Well in her case at least.

I figured her whole face was just one big canvas for her emotions, but over the years, her husband beat her into putting on a mask. The once vibrant canvas was constrained to her eyes, making them the only real look into her thoughts. Realizing that I myself was falling into distraction, I rattled the DVD boxes, and her eyes came back into focus.

She chose Liar Liar, and I jumped up to put the DVD in. I always liked Jim Carrey. One of the few comedians I could stand. Once it was in, I turned and ran to the bed, leaping onto it like little kids do when they don't want the boogie man to grab their feet. The force of my bounce made her fall over, and that made me laugh.

My hair fell into my eyes as I watched her, obscuring my view a little. She looked over at me, and for a moment, the mask was completely gone, and I saw the innocence that was Golden Girl. I caught a glimpse of someone who had been dead for a while, and that made me smile. Interesting, the mask could come down as easily as that. Her eyes connected to mine, and immediately the mask came back up. I pressed play, still watching her.

Turning quickly, she looked back to the screen. As the opening credits rolled, I wondered if she would let the mask down again.

To my surprise she did, her laughter mixed with mine almost musically. While mine was wheezy and high, hers was strong and melodic. Suddenly she fell back, and I could see her face. I prided in my ability to break people's sad attempts of 'normalcy', to break the mask of society. But her mask, her mask was probably going to be the most entertaining to break.

Sitting back up, she continued watching the movie, and I continued watching her. How would I do it? Break her facade? Would I force her to do it, quick and easy, or slowly, gaining her trust, freeing her, and then breaking her.

She must have felt me watching her, because she turned to look at me again.

"Wha?" she asked, her head tilting ever so slightly. I sucked on my scars.

"You need to, uh, smile more Sugar," I said in a low voice, and something flashed in her eyes. As if she knew she needed to too, but she didn't know where to start. Once she turned away, I had made my decision. I would take it slowly with her, because I wanted to see how this would end up.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N I have no excuse for my long disappearance other than I was developing the story, and enjoying the last week of summer. I apologize. To make it up, here's a chapter!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I would put your names, but I wanted to get this up as soon as possible!

And to Mr./Mrs. Anon, if you thought this story was shit, why did you read all 14 chapters? Just wonderin.

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

Now, I'm not stupid. The Joker is a madman, and even as we were both laughing at the movie, I was still wary of him. He could easily turn and kill me, or grab me and hang me upside down from the building's edge. So when he suddenly jumped up when the blooper reel was rolling, I flinched, watching him.

He didn't seem to notice, and ran out of the room. I blinked, expecting him to run back in, but he didn't.

...What the hell am I doin in here? I asked myself, standing up. The Joker had left the door wide open, and I was confident in my ability to back track my way to a door out.

As quietly as I could, I sneaked to the door. Peering out, I saw there was absolutely no one around. Holding in a happy squeal, I quickly walked down the hallway, looking over my shoulder every few seconds.

I managed to get downstairs and into the large parking garage looking room without any problems. Which was a first, because my luck sucks, and everything that will go wrong, goes wrong. Hiding behind some boxes, I listened hard for any signs of people in the room. Nothing. So I looked around the box, and saw no one around. But the cars were still here. Strange.

I didn't give it a second thought as I started to slowly approached my way to freedom. I was almost there when I heard laughter. Sliding to a stop, I saw The Joker and Batman duking it out outside the doors, goons littered the ground around them. Batman punched Joker, sending the clown flying. An opening. Down the alleyway. I made a break for it, hoping no one noticed. Hoping for once in my life I could get away.

But, as fate would have it, the gods hate me. Right as I was passing through the doors, The Joker suddenly appeared before me, looking like crap, and grinning like a moron. An insane, giggling moron.

"Hey Sugar. I'll-ah, be righT with you," he said, before dodging a kick from Batman. I turned to run the other direction, but an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me harshly against a chest.

Something sharp was pressed against my throat, and I was face to face with The Batman. I wanted to thank him for saving me, paying my hospital bills, and giving me clothes, but the man now threatening my life was talking already.

"Now Bat Man... You don't want thisss little birdie to be hurt do you?" The Joker giggled, his hot breath in my ear. Batman's eyes met with mine, and he looked concerned. I wanted to pat his arm, and tell him the idiot was an idiot, and that I would be fine...I hoped.

I didn't get the chance to, because The Joker started to drag me away. He made the mistake of moving me away from him too soon, because Batman threw something at him immediately, and The Joker went down. I was left standing, staring at The Joker on the ground.

Looking back at Batman, he looked very proud of himself. I'm sure he wanted to do that for a while. The Joker groaned, coughed, and then started to laugh. Yup, he was insane. I took a step away from him, just in case he decided to lash out and whatnot. The Batman walked up, and picked The Joker up and over his shoulder.

"You alright miss?" he rasped to me, and I nodded

"Fo te most part," I responded back.

"Do you need a ride home?"

Jeeze, did I look like a damsel that much?

"I don tink you have room for tree," I said, motioning to the somewhat incapacitated Joker.

"I can get you a cab," Batman responded slowly, as if I couldn't understand him. I thought about it for a minute. It was the middle of the night, and I was probably in the Narrows.

"If its no probleim," I said, and he pulled out what looked like a phone. A Batphone. Sorta like an Iphone, but not... Ok I really needed to get home and rest. I was going to be more insane than The Joker at this rate.

Speaking of The Joker... Said man was poking Batman's back repeatedly, not exactly in his right mind. Actually...I don't really think he was in his right mind in the first place... Anyway. The clown was in a daze, or something, otherwise he would be squirming and laughing loudly and the like. Guess Batman punched too many brain cells out of him this round.

As soon as Batman got off the phone, he nodded to me, before heading to his 'car'. The Joker looked up, and waggled his fingers at me. That's when I noticed something odd. The Joker's eyes were dark brown, not green... Oh...shit... Before I could tell Batman he had a very good Joker actor in his very strange car, Batman sped off.

Well... he would find out eventually... Hopefully.

I shrugged slightly, before turning to the sidewalk. It hadn't occurred to me to think about where the real Joker was, too busy with myself I suppose. But the hunched over form at the end of the alleyway reminded me that I indeed needed to think a little more clearly.

The Joker, the real one, stood at the end of the alleyway, silhouetted with the weak light. He didn't move, and I could see his facial expression from where I was standing. He wasn't exactly in a laughing mood.

Instinct told me to hightail it and run, but fear kept me rooted at the spot. Fear for what he would to me if I did run.

The Joker began to stalk toward me, and I could see a glint of a knife in his purple gloved hand. And yet I didn't move. When he was a foot away from me, he tilted his head a little, like he wanted me to say something. I opened my mouth to say something, but he just lunged at me and grabbed the back of my neck. His blade was at my mouth, and he was smacking his lips together.

"You know whaT Sugar?... I thoughT we had something speciaaall...and yeT, here I find you... running off with The BaT Man... You know how that makes me feel?" he growled, the knife digging into my lips. I tasted the coppery tang of blood, and I flinched. He just tightened his grip on me, his faces centimeters from mine.

"IT makes me feel..." he never finished, his lips flapping, like he didn't want to say what he was going to say. I could see his tongue flick out to lick his lips, and I looked up into his eyes.

"Sugar... From now on... escape through the fronT door," with that, he pushed me away, and walked out of the alleyway, leaving me standing there dumbly.

He had just scared the shit out of me, and let me go... This does not bode well for the future.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N

Thanks tooooooo~ XPsychoBabyDollX, Jana, forgetmenotflowers, Sithlord8665, and linnie kinda spinnie! You all get a imaginary shiny laptop and imaginary favorite soda!

Enjoy!

~~/~~

~Joker POV

Damn Bat. Ruins everything. I heard shouts and bangs come from the other rooms just as the blooper reel was running, and internally swore. I didn't ask for much, did I? A little song, a little dance...and Bat Man's head on a lance.

Ok, I lied about the lance part. Bat Man was too much fun to kill. The constant chase, the everlasting fight against good and evil. That is just deLIGHTful.

But sometimes, sometimes, Bat Man gets on my nerves. He enjoys ruining my plans, even BEFORE I put them into action. That gets a little annoying after the second time.

So, after I heard shouts, I got up and ran out. Knowing the 'genius' Bat Man, he would probably do his best to throw all my men into the surrounding boxes that were filled with explosives. Not only will this building blow up, but probably half the Narrows.

Don't get me wrong, the Narrows NEEDS to be blown up, but not with me IN the explosion too. That's not fun at all. I don't get to even see the extent of the damage and the chaos that it causes afterwards. Which is why I had to stop The Bat Man from being oh so noble.

I didn't even think about Golden-Girl, or how I left the door wide open, or even how she could escape. To be honest, she's not that important. Flipping her world upside down is more of a bonus at the moment, something to do besides blowing up buildings. A fun little side project. Yes. That's what she was. A fun little side project.

And here I am, getting distracted again. Oopsie!

I ran down the stairs, and skipped the last step. On my way, I had grabbed a gun, not checking if it was loaded or not. When I got to the garage, half my boys were already down, the other half doing their pathetic best to stop The Bat Man. I say pathetic because it was pathetic.

No grace, no flair. So boring. I decided to show them how a real artist fights.

"Well Batsy! I wasn't really, uh, expecting you! Sorry that the place is a messss! Didn't get a chance to clean UP!" I called, and on cue, The Bat turned to look at me, looking very very mad. I laughed loudly, and aimed my gun at him. The Bat had very fun toys, including bullet proof suits and what not, so I knew that shooting him would do absolutely nothing. But it's fun to shoot guns. Even though knives were much, much more fulfilling.

Pulling the trigger, I expected the usual loud BANG! Instead I got the hope-killing sound of empty cartridge clicks. Bat Man just stared at me, and I stared at him. I just laughed, and threw the gun over my shoulder. There was a light switch next to me, and I grinned.

"Come on Batsy! Let's dance!" I declared, flicking the switch.

A while back, I met a street performer. He was an 'imitator', and he was good, really good. When I asked him, he told me he studied his inspiration relentlessly. And it paid off. Everything was perfect, even the way of speech.

He was so good, I asked him to join my team. It was really easy, once he found out his inspiration was standing before him. I was going to save him for a rainy day, but right now, I wanted to get back at Batsy for crashing my party.

Once I flicked off the lights, I only had a few seconds to find the other me and throw him to the Bat. Fortunately, he was hiding behind some boxes nearby.

I found him, grabbed him, and I threw him to the Bat. I then hid in his spot, a perfect place to watch the fight. The other me was actually a better fighter than me... I guess I need to work on that...

Thankfully The Bat Man didn't seem to notice that the other me, wasn't me. I watched them fight for a few seconds, before The Bat punched the other me out of the garage.

From my spot, my visual on the fight was absolute zero, but I didn't want to get up and have Bats spot me. Even when Golden Girl ran past, her intent obviously escape. Why didn't she take the front door? It's wide open, and she wouldn't have to fight through all my men to get out... If they were still conscious.

I listened hard, fighting the strong urge to get up and join that party. I heard Golden Girl talking to The Bat Man, and strangely, that bothered me.

I didn't want her talking to him, didn't want him to bring her out before I could. She was my conquest, my pawn to play, not his. So I got up, and headed for a side exit that led to the alleyway outside. I still didn't want to be seen after all.

By the time I entered the alleyway, The Bat Man was speeding off with other me, and Golden Girl was standing there, waiting. So innocent. So naive. So god damned breakable.

She saw me, and I could see her tense up, and I felt a cold knife slide into my hand. I couldn't help myself. I didn't want to wait to break her. I wanted to break her then and there. So I walked to her, and her eyes met with mine, and I saw obvious fear in them. What happened to the Golden Girl who wasn't afraid of me? The one who looked right back at me with no emotion at all?

I guess once she fought off her husband, finally banishing the thing that scared her the most, she was now able to be afraid of other things. Including me. Get rid of one demon, open up a space for another to take his place.

Once I was near her, I grabbed her, pulling her close. So close, I could smell her. Fear, along with a vanilla scent. She seemed like a girl who would want to smell like a cookie.

One more scar on her face wouldn't make a difference. Besides, it would just make her more attractive. I smacked my lips together, placing my blade in her mouth.

"You know whaT Sugar?... I thoughT we had something speciaaall... and yeT, here I find you... running off with The BaT Man... You know how that makes me feel?" I asked her, and I saw a flash of confusion in her eyes.

"IT makes me feel..." Rethinking my earlier thoughts, I deemed them to be correct. I didn't like her talking to the Bat Man because I wanted to be the one to save her... then destroy her. I don't want other people ruining my plans this time.

I didn't finish my sentence, and pushed her away. I would let her calm down a little, heal, and then I would come back for her, and we could finally play this little game.

"Sugar... From now on... escape through the fronT door," and with that, I left the alleyway, letting out a laugh as I did so.

Hopefully she wouldn't run out of town before we could start.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N

'ello lovelies! Here's the last chapter of my summer! I shall now be updating (hopefully) sometime over the week. Once or twice a week (hopefully). And it's only 500 words, because that's all I have time for. Next chapter will be MUCH longer, I promise. :) So, I'm sorry, and wish me luck!

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

Once The Joker was out of sight, I cautiously walked down the alleyway. Once I reached the end, I checked both ways, and both ways were Joker free. Before I could take another step, a cab squealed to a stop in front of me.

"Oi! You the broad I got a call for?" the cab driver shouted over his loud music. I almost said no. Getting in the cab with this guy seemed like a headache on wheels. I could practically see the cigarette fumes waft from his cab.

But despite all of that, I didn't want to walk home at this time, so I nodded yes, and approached the cab. Once I was in, the cabbie immediately peeled out, throwing me around in the back. Once we were out of the Narrows, he finally bothered to ask me where he was taking me. Small guess; he didn't like the Narrows very much.

I told him the motel I was staying at, with a little difficulty, and again I was thrown around the back seat as the cabbie raced through the streets. Who taught this man how to drive?

One nightmare later, I finally met solid ground, and I almost cried for joy. I paid the cabbie, and went to my I room. I remembered I didn't have my key, so I went to the main office. After an hour of arguing with the landlady, I got another key. Yeah, I had no ID on me, but I had stayed here long enough for the landlady to at least recognize me.

It took me going to and finding my picture to finally get her to believe I was who I said I was. When I finally entered my room, I was exhausted, and my head was hurting again. I didn't even bother taking off my day clothes before I fell onto the bed.

I stared at the ceiling for the next ten minutes. Has that ever happened to you? You're so tired, almost asleep on your feet, and when you finally get into bed, you can't fall asleep. You're brain just goes into overload, thinking about everything and anything, keeping you from sleep.

I wanted to sleep so bad, to just escape for a few hours and rest, but my mind was too busy replaying everything that happened. Batman saved me, everyone found out who the real monster was, and The Joker had kidnapped me again. We watched a freakin movie together. And I have a feeling that I'm going to see The Joker again real soon.

As I lay there, staring at the cracked ceiling, I wondered if it was going to be safer to just leave town, never come back. I could go back home, make amends with my parents and start all over. I'm young enough to jump start my life again, not that hard. It sounded nice, starting all over again, getting away from everything bad.

And I'm pretty sure I'm not important enough for The Joker to come and chase me down once I left. My eyes began drooping, and I felt the onslaught of sleep coming, and before I finally drifted off, I made the decision to go home.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter The REAL 18

I can't apologize enough. Really. From now on, I think I'll have time to write. Its my last homecoming, then halloween, then my birthday these next 3 weekends, so I shall be writing during my free 3rd period now. So, to my readers who are still reading this, I thank ye -bows dramatically- Oh, also, my ex-Bf and I got back together, so blame him if I don't update fast enough. He likes kidnapping me to take me to random places. Like the pumpkin patch. That was fun. ANYWAY! ON TO THE STORY

Short Chapter just to get something up. Next chapter later tonight or tomorrow

~~/~~

~~Cara POV

When I finally woke up the next morning, I didn't feel the least bit rested. All I wanted to do was just sleep for days, but I was incapable of falling back asleep. So instead of memorizing the ceiling bumps for the 6th time, I decided to finally do something productive. I called the airport, and with a little difficulty (3 hours of arguing, waiting, and bartering) I got a ticket back home. To sunny Southern California. I could not wait, and was terrified at the same time.

At that time, what The Joker would do never crossed my mind. Which was probably very foolish of me. But to be honest, that man could go take a flying leap for all I care. I refused to stay one more day in Gotham. Refused.

With my amazing skills, I had managed to get a ticket for that afternoon. Which meant I had time to kill. I packed my bags, took a shower, put on my makeup, made funny faces in the mirror. I looked back at the clock, and saw that only thirty minutes had passed. Groaning, I decided to go out for one last hurrah around town. In other words, go get me some doughnuts.

Half of me prayed that where ever I ended up today, he didn't show up, and half of me prayed that he did show up, laughing as he always was. Those two sides of me argued the whole way to the doughnut shop. When I finally walked through the door, one side sighed in relief. He wasn't there. The other part of me was shoved into a dark corner in my brain to sulk.

I ordered a doughnut and a cup of hot chocolate, and sat down at one of the small tables to munch on the tasty pastry. Since I was a child, I enjoyed watching people. You know the phrase, "Someone is always watching"? Well, it's true. If I'm around at least. Other people don't understand how much you learn just by watching people walk down the street. I could tell the young woman in 5 inch heels had just had an argument with her lover. A man in a suit and tie forgot something to do for work. Another woman had uncomfortable shoes on. I could see all of that just by watching them for a few seconds.

I also get a few laughs when people trip and act like nothing happened. Yes sir with the briefcase, I saw you trip over nothing, no I won't tell anyone.

Once my hot chocolate was nothing but a stain and a distant memory, I sighed and left the doughnut shop. As I walked down the sidewalk, I passed a few pregnant women, every time becoming sadder and sadder. I would never be the same again. By the time I got home, I was almost in tears. Why me? Why did I have to make the sacrifice? Why did my child have to die?

Before I could go and just shut down, I saw the flashing light of my cell phone. I picked it up, and saw I had a message. It was the airport telling me that the price of the ticket went up by thirty dollars. Refraining from screaming, I looked at the clock, saw that it was finally time to go, and picked up my things. I paid for my room, hailed a taxi, and finally started my journey home.

Once I got to the airport, I paid the cabi, and he sped off. With my minimal bags, I walked to the front checkin desks. And so begins the 2 hour process of going through security.


	19. ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey Y'all!

It's been a CRAZY three years hasn't it.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has read this story, loved, and reviewed/ favorited.

I really can't apologize for such a long wait. Life just sorta, happened. This story began as a way to vent anger and frustration from an ex boyfriend, but then STUPIDLY I got back together with him. (He ended up breaking up with me before senior Prom. Dick) BUT THEN

GOOD NEWS

I graduated with high marks, got a new boyfriend who treats me right and actually loves me, and am now finishing my second year of college. I'm on my college's Nationally Ranked Speech team, and I'm super busy, but I DO have time to start writing. I'll write new chapters, along with editing old ones.

MY GOAL is to have 1 new chapter, and 1 edited chapter a week. As one of my Speech Coaches says: "Everything is a process, we just have to keep working at it"

So Thank you all so much again, and expect another chapter VERY VERY Soon!

~A Very Grown Up

RosaTyranny


	20. Chapter 19

Thank you to EVERYONE for being patient.

See chapter 19A for full explanation for the stupidly long hiatus...

Let's not waste any time and get right into it!

Disclaimer: I actually missed this thing... I OWN CARA SNOW, not DC

xxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxx

Cara POV

I got off the plane, collected my luggage, and after I picked up my heavy bag, I started to head to the taxi stop. Time to go home.

When I actually got home, my mother didn't recognize me at first. That made me cry harder. For a full day I cried as she held me, cooing at me, petting my hair. I had missed her so much. Her rough finger tips from all the gardening she did, her calm green eyes, her warm voice. Nothing was more comforting than a mother's embrace.

My little sister, about to graduate college, cried too, but since she was so strong she couldn't bring herself to come touch me. I used to be like that.

For the next week, it was difficult to re-connect to them, it felt like we were all walking on egg-shells.

I had typed out what had happened to me, sans the Joker-consciousness and the "kidnappings" and the first kiss... and my family didn't know how to cope with everything per se.

After the second week my little sister finally threw the towel down, literally, and demanded answers for all of her questions.

Why was I so weak?

Why couldn't I speak up?

Why did I let him do this to me?

HOW could I let him do this to me?

My only answer was I didn't know, and that was between my sobs, as she finally held me, the first contact we've had in 8 years.

I tried to ask her questions, griping onto her.

When did we become so distant? When did we become to hate each other? As kids we never got along, but that was because I was so jealous of what you were going to become. But I still loved you fiercely, ready to die for you, my one sister. When did you become to despise me so?

Apologies rolled off her tongue as tears rolled off her cheeks, mottling the top of my head.

Neither of us had any answers, for the questions that actually mattered.

My sister helped me become a little stronger, Joker-consciousness DID tell me it was time after all. Taking me to therapy, helping me get a job, getting my life back on track. 5 months later I was a new woman. Hell, I could actually have a normal conversation now.

I almost forgot about the Joker.

Almost.

* * *

><p>It was officially 5 months, 11 days and 12 hours after I returned home. I had a job at a book store, were I was allowed to read any book I wanted, as long as I helped customers when they asked. I loved it. I still didn't have many friends, I was content with what I had right now. I was... ashamed of who I had become. I still didn't trust many people.<p>

I carried pepper spray and a small knife everywhere I went, and I didn't make eye-contact with strangers. My therapist said this was normal behavior.

I was friendly with my manager and co-workers. I loved the fact that they were trying to hide their love-affair when I just thought it was adorable. Apparently my hints of "I think gay marriage SHOULD be legalized" wasn't enough to tell them that I was comfortable with who they were.

Joker consciousness visits me once in a while, when I have nightmares. They used to be really bad, when I first came home, I would wake the whole house with my screaming. Now I only have them twice to three times a week, and I don't scream bloody murder every time. They're becoming so distant and unrealistic, I no longer feel HIS hands on my throat anymore.

When I do have a nightmare nowadays, Joker-consciousness almost always saves the day. Wearing his purple jacket like a cape, he galavants in, cackling, saying a cheesy joke, and doing something to rescue me. One time, he rode in on a unicycle, and carried me out bridal style.

Another, he had an australian accent.

I have no idea where it came from.

Regardless... I was starting to feel normal again.

I had mourned my daughter. I actually bought her a grave, next to my fathers. I visit it once in a while, lay down flowers. But life is a cycle, and even though she never could live, doesn't mean that my love for her couldn't. She would always have a special place in my heart, and I would never forget her.

But I couldn't sit around, thinking about it, crying, because it won't bring her back. Nothing will. So I'll just try to enjoy my life, and I pray that she's in heaven, watching me, and seeing that my love for her has no bounds.

I was almost at peace.

Almost.

* * *

><p>It was a Thursday. Not much happens on a Thursday.<p>

Mrs. Schultz comes in for her weekly penny-paperback, the Friday magazines are delivered, and I work the afternoon shift with Mark, my co-worker.

I was busy reading a "romance" about a glittery vampire, disappointed in the sequel since I had greatly enjoyed the first book, when I heard the door open. The ringing of the bell made Mark call "Hello! Welcome to Lotsa Booksa! If you have any questions, just find Cara, she's probably in the middle of an isle reading,"

I heard a low "Thanks", and went back to reading. That's when my light was blocked. Now, of course I looked up, with my brows furrowed, due to the fact that I was being disturbed.

The man above me was wearing a thick jacket, his long messy hair pulled into a loose ponytail. I couldn't see his face because it was opposite of the light, but I could see his eyes glittering.

"Can I help you sir?" I asked as politely as I could, smiling at him. Usually a customer stares at me when I'm sprawled in the middle of an isle, reading, because it's unconventional, but someone a long time ago taught me that it's actually ok to be yourself.

He didn't teach me the normal way someone teaches you something, no, he taught me in a way that I had to teach myself. He taught me in his laugh, his grin, his green hair.

It took me 5 months to realize it. But I finally did.

The man just stepped over me, and walked to the other end of the isle, so I looked back down to my book and I went back to reading. I was so disappointed with this sequel. Maybe I should write a letter to the author...

"You-ah, got any comic books, Sugar?"

I paused, and looked up. I almost forgot about him.

But I wouldn't never forget that voice.

Never.

He was flipping through an almanac, the heavy book looking ridiculous in his gloved hands. Blinking while my brain caught up, he looked over at me, his dark eyes full of mirth and mystery. Placing the book down with a thud, I jumped to my feet, dropping my own book, staring at him wide eyed.

I didn't back away when he approached me, but I could feel fear clenching in my stomach, or was it anticipation? I couldn't tell at the time, I was too shocked to really comprehend what was going on.

Standing before me, in a small book shop in Southern California, miles away from Gotham City, 5 months, 11 days, and 12.5 hours later, was the Joker. Staring down at me in his hunched form, licking his lips. I almost couldn't believe it.

Again, almost.

Part of me hoped this would happen. Part of me wanted to wrap my arms around him and thank him, for helping me heal.

The problem was, HE didn't help me. I helped me, with a weird consciousness that just took him shape.

The other part of me wanted to run away from him, but I didn't. I stayed put.

Finally, I spoke.

"Comic books are one row over,"

His laughter filled the air, and he put his hands in his pockets.

"We-ah... need to talk Sugar... A nice. Long. Talk," I flinched slightly as he spit the words out, only because spit hit my face.

I wiped it off, and flicked my hand dramatically. What was he so angry about? From what the papers said, he was having way too much fun causing havoc.

He even got captured, and escaped, TWICE.

Why does he look so angry.

Calmly, I straightened my little apron, and clicked my tongue. What was the saying he always said? Before be cut people's faces... It's on the tip of my - OH THAT'S RIGHT!

"Why so Serious? You still owe me a dinner date," was all I said as I picked up my book and returned it to the shelf. I heard him grumbling as I left the isle.

I almost missed this.

Almost.


	21. Chapter 20

LOOK! Another [short] chapter?! WHAT!? No way

Yes way. I will begin working on older chapters now, and WILL change the title to that chapter as "# Revised" so you guys know

Thanks everyone who reviewed! Especially xXGlamorousGloraXx, who actually inspired me to start writing this again soooo COOKIES AND PUPPIES FOR YOU GLORA

*Insert Disclaimer Here*

* * *

><p>Joker POV:<p>

After I let Golden Girl go, I planned on checking in on her the next day.

However the GLORIOUS GPD and The BAT Man had different ideas.

Apparently they found out that my double was actually a fake. So once again I was thrust into the fast life, blowing things up, stealing from the mob, fighting with the Bat.

I was captured, and I escaped, then captured, and escaped, AGAIN. You would think a place that holds crazy people hostage would have better security. Seriously.

When I arrived at my new safehouse, I leaned back in my stolen Lazy-Boy, gloved hands behind my head. And as I stared at my handiwork out of the murky windows, I remembered something. It had been about 5 months since I had seen Golden Girl, and now that I think about it, I haven't seen her, or heard about her. For a moment, the briefest moment you can imagine, like, the time it takes for a fly to realize you're about to kill it and fly away, I actually felt badly that I forgot about her.

So the next day, I went to Steve's doughnuts. Then the next day, and the next. By the 5th day, I had begun to get a little frustrated, and I'm sure gained some weight, so many doughnuts. But I digress... She was a consistent thing, I'm sure she would HATE to hear that but she is. So predictable...

By the end of the week I had sent some of my boys to find her, but they came up empty. Putting a hold on my plans to kidnap Miss Gotham, I decided to make a few calls. I eventually found out that she moved back home with her mom, back in California.

She got a new job, was going to therapy. Was getting better.

She was meeting new people. Smiling.

She was laughing...

Now that was a problem. See, see MY plan, did NOT include her moving away and moving on from this.

No...no...

She was so close to the edge, I could practically taste the madness on her breath. Those lush lips were just ASKING for it... for the kiss of madness of course...

I wonder what she would look like covered in red...

I clicked my tongue.

Just picked up and left, without thinking about little old me... How did she think I felt by being left behind!

"And without sending a note... well... we are going to do something about thaT! BOYS I'M GOING ON A LITTLE VACATION! PACK MY CARRYON!"

I always got what I wanted.

Always.

* * *

><p>It took no time to fly to Southern California, find her place of work, and plan a little surprise reunion. I had grown used to wearing my fake face, I survived the 5 hour plane ride with it, and then some.<p>

The day after I arrived, I put on a fresh 'face' and headed for the little bookshop. The small town was crowded, loud, and confusing. The air smelled too fresh, and everyone smiled too much. Not that I didn't like people smiling, they just were smiling for the wrong reasons. The world around them was decaying and rotting and they had no idea. But I had no time for that.

Thursday afternoons didn't seem like a busy time for a mom-and-pop bookshop, and I was correct. When I walked in, there was no one there, and the smell of new and old paper hit my nostrils. A cheery male voice called from beyond a curtain, but I wasn't listening. I was looking for gold.

I searched a few isles before I finally found her, sitting on the floor, chewing on her lip as she thumbed the pages of a book. Her hair and grown, it looked like it was long enough to touch the small of her back, and she was so deep into that book that she didn't even look up when I cleared my throat. Anger boiled in my blood. How dare that this woman think that she can just RUN AWAY from me! Does she know who I am!?

I'm the Clown Prince of Crime! Not some one night stand! I'm to be feared, to be clung to. As I stomped up to her, snarling, I realized that she- that I wanted her to need me. That was the game after all.

Before I could say anything, she looked up at me, her blue eyes bright, a welcoming smile appearing on her lips. That made my anger subside. She looked so... happy.

Why.

"Can I help you sir?"

She... she can talk. I had to pull myself away. I was too late. The game was over before it even began. There goes my fun. I glared at the books on the shelf, willing them to burst into flame.

I still haven't mastered The Force, even AFTER I've watched ALL of the Star Wars movies another 13 times. Maybe I should build a lightsaber... THAT'll put a damper on Bat Man's day!

Blinking, I just grabbed a random book, coming back to the topic at hand. Thumbing at an almanac, I took a few deep breaths, disappointed and angry. Well what was I going to do now? I glanced back at her, and she was back to reading. She had no idea it was me. Maybe she's already forgotten about me...

It's time to remind her.

"You-ah, got any comic books Sugar?" I said, watching her carefully. She froze, her back going ramrod straight, and I dropped the almanac on the shelf. That made her stand up, and her eyes met mine, and I felt electricity fly down my spine. A mix of fear and surprise were in those glorious eyes of hers, but even as I stepped heavily towards her, she didn't budge.

When I was a foot away, I could practically taste her vanilla perfume. Always smelling like cookies. It took every fibre of my being not to grab her, what I was gonna do I don't know. Slit her throat, kiss her, no idea. I searched her eyes, and slowly I could see her fear disappear, a mask forming as slow as molasses.

Then she spoke again, breaking me from my reverie.

"Comic books are one row over,"

I laughed, I missed that mouth. Putting my hands in my pockets, I grinned at her, the liquid latex stretching over my skin. My fingers played with the switchblade in my pocket.

"We-ah... need to talk Sugar... A nice. Long. Talk," I spat, and she made a face as she wiped whatever landed on her off. Her nonchalance pissed me off.

Here I am, miles away from my kingdom, trying to do HER a favor, and here she is. Smirking. I SHOULD BE THE ONE SMIRKING. As I started to fume, her smirk grew to a smile, to a grin. And before I could smack that smile off of her face, she said, in that damn musical voice of hers:

"Why so serious? You still owe me a dinner date,"

Then she picked up her book, and started back down the isle. And I was stuck between strangling her, or staring at the way her body moved.

I always get what I want.

Always.

Even if I couldn't figure out WHAT I wanted.


	22. Chapter 21

First Chapter revised (added a few things here and there and fixed the spelling)

Also: did anyone else watch the Oscars? Brad Pitt passing out paper plates? Ellen in the Glinda costume? Anyone?

Thanks for reading! Please review/favorite/ I dunno... Have a slice of pie

~`the dance``~~~`` of the Disclaimer`~~`~

* * *

><p>Cara POV:<p>

I had 2 hours left in my shift. Just two. Not that long at all, well to me, who's thankful for every second. Apparently I'm the only one who thinks that 2 hours is no time, because for the next 2 hours, I had a small child following me around.

That small child was over 6 foot, scarred, and a psychopath.

He did EVERYTHING to annoy me, which I'm sure he found entertaining.

Like, breathing down my neck closely, like RIGHT THERE closely, asking questions incessantly. But somehow, like a seasoned mother, I ignored him for 2 hours. He would think of something to do, run off, then return 3 minutes later.

Why? He said he didn't want me to run out on him without him knowing again. And whatever he had been doing either A) didn't work or B) wasn't entertaining anymore.

Then, he told me, as I was stocking shelves and standing on a ladder, that I had "been a bad girl, and needed to be punished". He cackled when I turned bright red.

My coworker would check on me every now and again, but I just told him that The Joker, who I named Jack off the top of my head, was an old friend that I hadn't seen in ages. Flipping his pink hair, he went back into the stockroom to watch Rupaul's Dragrace.

As time went on, Joker got more and more impatient. I had to stop him from setting books on fire because "he was bored" and told him if he was so bored he could leave and never come back.

"No-ah wonder why people commit suicide all, all of the time. This, this is minD numbing," he groaned, stabbing a bookshelf repeatedly. I just ignored him while I put together a new book release display.

Twenty minutes later he was knocking my display over, and then running away with the steamers. I clocked out after that.

* * *

><p>Joker POV:<p>

Bored.

Bored...

So.

Fucking...

BORED!

I had already read Old Man in the Sea, and Cyrano de Bergerac by- well, I take that back, I SKIMMED Old Man in the Sea, and used a copy of Cyrano de Bergerac to make paper cranes by the time Golden Girl told me she had an hour and a HALF left in her shift.

What was I supposed to do!? She wasn't talking to me, and I'm no master of conversation myself, and I had NOTHING to do in this shop. They didn't even have a copy of Bomb-Making for Dummies.

What is a bored psychopath to do!?

Bored.

So I followed Golden Girl, 5 inches behind her, telling her that I wanted to leave, that I was bored, that if I had my way we'd be back in Gotham. But she was ignoring me.

When did she learn how to do that? I looked for that book for 5 minutes, turns out there IS no book called "How to ignore The Joker in 3 days!" Maybe the therapist sucked out her soul?

The almanac said nothing about therapists being vampires.

Or soul suckers.

An hour and fifteen minutes left...

While Golden Girl was stacking shelves, I stood next to her, watching her stretch and reach. Wow she really was short. Then I got an idea to get her riled up.

"You know, Sugar... You've been a bad girl... You should be punisshhed," I hissed, smirking at her. I cackled when she turned bright red, but was disappointed when she didn't retort.

An hour left...

Bored... bored...

Hey! Books are made of paper, paper burns!

Right before I could set Fahrenheit 451 on fire, Golden Girl snatched it out of my hands, hissing that I was acting like a child and if I wanted to do something I could leave and never see her again. Well THAT'S no fun!

53 minutes left...

"No-ah wonder why people commit suicide all, all of the time. This, this is minD numbing," I groaned, stabbing a bookshelf repeatedly, I was chipping Golden Girl's likeness into the wood. But she didn't appreciate my handiwork, said it looked like a giraffe.

I had to go back to the almanac. Yep. It's a giraffe.

46...

...

What the frick frack diddily dack patty wack snick snack crack pack slack mack quarterback crackerjack biofeedback backtrack thumbtack sidetrack tic-tac does she think she's doing...

Are those... steamers? What- why? "Super Saga Vampire Love Story 12"? Who names their book "Super Saga Vampire Love Story 12"!? I picked up a copy... is there really 11 BEFORE this one?!

By the time I finished reading the first chapter, my lovely companion was finished setting up the "display", and had moved on to new projects. I stared at the posters of the grinning, feminine looking vampire for precisely 18 minutes and 37 seconds before I kicked him in the face.

I've never got into a fight with a cardboard cutout, but let me tell you... they know how to throw a right hook.

Cara finally left after that, me trailing behind her, streamer still stuck to me.

I told you I always got what I wanted.

* * *

><p>Normal POV:<p>

Our unlikely companions set out for a nearby diner, one grumbling angrily, another whistling dixie. When they arrived at the door, the female counterpart stared at the door, glaring at the handle, her hands deep in her pockets.

"Somethin wrong Sugar?" her male compadre asked, leaning around to see her face.

"That door handle hasn't been cleaned in months, and I am NOT in the mood to feel other peop-"

"Jeeze! Alright, alrighT! If you wanted me to open the door for ya all ya had to do was ASK!"

And so the gentleman psychopath opened the door for the annoyed young woman, who was chewing a hole in her lip. She was still chewing when the hostess seated them, and as she skimmed through the menu. She didn't know what to do exactly.

Sitting parallel to her was a KNOWN murderer, arsonist and general crazy-guy, at a Denny's in southern California. And she was acting normal. How was this normal? Shouldn't she be calling the police? She should be, she should be running away, screaming, hiding, but instead, she contemplated getting the pancakes or the hamburger.

Conflict raged war in the woman's head, and stomach.

"Watcha gonna get Sugar?" the man asked, dropping his menu and scratching his cheek.

"You keep scratching and your mask will fall off, Darling," she retorted, not even looking up. The man stopped, and instead started to suck on the inside of his cheek.

To everyone else, these two looked like a normal couple out for dinner. Sure they looked like an odd couple, he stood a foot taller than her almost and their personalities didn't seem to mesh, but hey, love is a strange thing.

The woman never answered her companion, in fact, she all but ignored him, the lines on her forehead growing deeper and deeper as she thought harder and harder.

By the time their food arrived, the gentleman poked the lady on the nose, making her look at him.

"You're gonna make you're-ah, head explode... why don'T you talk. to me now?"

The woman cleared her throat, blushing slightly.

"What do you want Jo-Jack?"

* * *

><p>Cara POV:<p>

Work was such a nice distraction, but now that we were just sitting here, my mind went wild.

Did he come to kill me? But if he wanted to kill me why didn't he do it already?

Am I hallucinating? Am I dreaming? I pinched myself. Ow. Nope, ok not dreaming. What am I going to do? Should I call the police? But... he hasn't DONE anything to warrant me calling the police... but he IS the Joker.

Should I get the hamburger or the pancakes?

"Watcha gonna get Sugar?" he finally spoke, and I fought the urge to look up at him, I suddenly felt like crying. Blinking a few times, I saw him scratching his cheek out of the corner of my eye.

We ordered, and I started to play with my napkin.

"You keep scratching and your mask will fall off, Darling," I muttered, not looking up. Why did I suddenly feel so vulnerable? This man has done nothing but made me miserable- he's kidnapped me, he's scared me, he's saved-

As my mind was reeling, our food arrived, and my thoughts were interrupted by a rude poke.

I finally looked up at him, my heart starting to pound. The look in his eyes made a jolt electricity go down my spine.

"You're gonna make you're-ah, head explode... why don'T you talk. to me now?"

Blushing, I realized that I had to talk to him at some point. But there was something I needed to know.

"What do you want Jo-Jack?" I asked, straightening my back trying to look strong. The Clown Prince of Crime tilted his head as he stole a bite of pancake from my plate. As he chewed, his grin started to form.

Swallowing loudly, he leaned forward, his eyes dark.

"Why Sugar... All I WANT... is..."

I didn't realize I was holding my breath, or that my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it pulse in my hands.

"...your pancakes,"

For a moment, I just stared at him, and I finally breathed. Shaking my head, I switched plates with him, digging into his hamburger. We were quiet for a while, and I started to calm down.

Maybe he just came to, visit me? Maybe he was worried?

...

...

.

This is the JOKER woman, he wasn't WORRIED about you. Stop romanticizing everything. He probably got bored in Gotham, or he's going to kidnap you again and do SOMETHING drastic. Don't let your guard down. Not for ONE second.

Looking up at him through my lashes, I could see him watching me, that same look in his eyes. He was so unpredictable that I couldn't get a read on him. Taking a long drink of water, I felt our knees bump into each other.

"Sorry," he muttered, taking another bite of syrup drenched pancake, and I... I actually smiled at him.

What the FUCK am I thinking?!

* * *

><p>Joker POV:<p>

These are fantastic pancakes... Why didn't I get these in the first place?

Our knees bumped, and I muttered a "Sorry", I don't know why, I just did.

Now, to be honest, I had NO idea what I was gonna do with her. I was just gonna go with the flow, plans really aren't my thing. But I knew for SURE, that I was going to punish her for leaving and ruining my game.

Poor Sugar, she's gonna make her mind melt with all of that thinking. Can't she just accept that her fate is sealed? That no matter how hard she thinks that she won't figure out why I'm here and what I'm going to do with her? Can't she just-

She... smiled at me. I just watched her, and I wish I had a camera so that I could trace that smile whenever I wanted. Suddenly I remembered when we were sitting on my bed, and we were laughing, together, and how my stomach did this same flip floppy thing... maybe indigestion?

I want more pancakes.


End file.
